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The government has said it can remove key clauses from a bill that would violate international law by allowing the UK to unilaterally rewrite parts of the Brexit exit agreement, as MPs prepare to pass the controversial bill.
The reintroduction of the clauses, which had been rejected by the House of Lords, seemed destined to inflame tensions between the negotiating parties at a crucial point in the Brexit talks. The concession is conditional on the two sides agreeing to a final trade deal, the next step in the Brexit process, for which last-minute talks are still underway.
Speaking in the debate before the vote, Labor’s shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said the dispute over the clauses had been “dire, embarrassing and toxic” to the government and that everyone from the great conservatives like Michael Howard and William Hague, to the Archbishop of Canterbury and President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
He said it would be difficult for the international community to trust that the clauses would be removed.
“There is one thing that this whole saga of history has shown to the world, I am afraid, is that this government cannot be trusted, because they are willing to break the international agreements they made less than a year ago.”
In a sign of softening attitudes, a government spokesman said it had agreed through the joint UK-EU committee, a bilateral body of ministers dealing with the withdrawal agreement, to resolve disagreements over the document, signed in January. .
The infringement of international law in the clauses provoked the indignation of the deputies and the resignation of the main government lawyer. The House of Lords voted overwhelmingly to amend it to remove elements that would violate international law.
The ministers have said that these would be restored by the Commons. If this happens, the bill would go back to the Lords as part of a process known as ping-pong, but an agreement on a trade bill could end the legislative deadlock.
The spokesman said the UK would be “prepared to remove clause 44 of the UK Internal Market Bill, relating to export declarations … to deactivate clauses 45 and 47, relating to state aid.”
Clause 45 of the bill states that the UK government could change the procedures for importing and exporting goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and amend elements of the associated Northern Ireland protocol, “without prejudice to any relevant national or international law with which it may be incompatible or inconsistent ”.
The government’s compromise seemed to appease some Conservative MPs in the Lords. Bob Neill, chairman of the Commons justice committee, said he would remove the clause that had “caused the most concern to legal commentators … a significant gesture of good faith on the part of Her Majesty’s government and hopefully remove some of the the real concerns that have been raised. ” expressed “.
Business Minister Paul Scully, who opened the debate, said the government was “willing to work in partnership while we do some difficult negotiations … we want to solve these problems instead of having to legislate for them.”
The measures, which the government openly recognized would violate international law, drew criticism from both opposition parties and EU politicians, even if many people saw it primarily as a lever for Brexit negotiations.
The UK government has insisted the clauses are necessary foolproof to preserve goods going to Northern Ireland in the event of a disorderly Brexit once the transition period ends at the end of the year, with tariffs added to the goods of the rest of the UK. as “at risk” of entering the EU by going to the Republic of Ireland.
The statement followed late-night talks in Brussels on Monday between Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, and Maroš Šefčovič, the vice-president of the European Commission.
The UK government statement added: “Good progress continues on deciding which goods are ‘at risk’ of entering the EU market. The talks continue this afternoon.
“In light of these discussions, the government will continue to review the content of the next tax bill.”
The tax bill, another post-Brexit measure that is expected in the Commons imminently, had also been predicted to contain clauses that violate international law.
