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Boris Johnson has reached an agreement with possible conservative rebels on a bill to rewrite the EU withdrawal agreement, according to the BBC.
More than 30 Conservative MPs were expected to vote in favor of an amendment to the Internal Market Law next week.
If passed, Sir Bob Neill’s amendment would have given MPs the last word on changes to the withdrawal agreement.
The prime minister has now promised to give MPs “an additional layer of parliamentary oversight”, it is understood.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the ministers’ hope is that this “will prevent rebellion next week.”
The UK internal market bill cleared its first hurdle in the Commons on Monday.
The bill makes changes to the withdrawal agreement that Boris Johnson signed with the EU in January.
‘Good faith’
Johnson says the UK’s “territorial integrity” needs to be protected if trade talks with the EU fail.
Speaking to the Liaison Committee, a panel of high-level parliamentarians insisted that the bill was necessary as a “belt and suspender” measure in case of “extreme” interpretations of the withdrawal agreement by the EU.
Pressed by Labor MP Hillary Benn if he believed that the EU was negotiating with the UK in good faith, he said: “I don’t think they are.”
He added that “it has always been possible for me to be wrong and perhaps they will prove my suspicions wrong.”
The bill has sparked a backlash from the EU, which has threatened legal action – and possible suspension of trade talks – if it is not withdrawn.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis admitted last week, in response to a Commons question from Conservative MP Sir Bob Neill, that the bill would violate international law in a “specific and limited” way.
His words prompted the resignation of a senior government legal official and the conviction of the five living former prime ministers, who warned that it threatens the UK’s reputation for respecting international treaties and laws.
Several Conservative MPs either abstained or voted against the bill on Monday, with many of them expected to back Sir Bob Neill’s amendment next week.
‘Legal safety net’
In Article I, Sir Bob said that his amendment “seeks to put a parliamentary blockade on the powers that the government seeks to grant itself.”
He added: “Slamming the entire bill would be the wrong approach.
“There is a lot of good in it, with 51 of its 54 clauses quite innocuous for the great majority.
“However, the severity of the remaining three clauses requires, at a minimum, additional checks and balances.
“My amendment would guarantee greater parliamentary approval before the government can fire them.”
Speaking earlier, Johnson’s official spokesman said the prime minister and his team “are in talks with MPs about the bill and the importance of creating the legal safety net.”
He confirmed that the prime minister had spoken with Sir Bob and said that “the talks with the deputies will continue.”
What is the Law of Internal Markets?
The bill sets out rules for the functioning of the UK’s internal market (trade between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) after the end of the Brexit transition period in January.
It proposes:
- No further checks will be carried out on goods moving from Northern Ireland to the rest of Great Britain
- Give UK ministers powers to modify or “waive” rules related to the movement of goods which will come into effect from 1 January if the UK and the EU cannot reach an alternative agreement through a business agreement
- Powers to override previously agreed obligations on state aid: government support to businesses.
The bill explicitly states that these powers must apply even if they are incompatible with international law.
Ministers say the legislation is necessary to avoid “damaging” tariffs on goods traveling from the rest of the UK to Northern Ireland if negotiations with the EU on a free trade deal fail.
But some high-level conservatives, including former Prime Minister John Major, have warned that it runs the risk of undermining the UK’s reputation as a defender of international law.
The legislation has also proved controversial with decentralized administrations, who are concerned about how the UK’s ‘home market’ will work after Brexit and who will set the regulations and standards.
