British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to renege on part of the Brexit divorce deal passed its first hurdle in parliament late on Monday after a bruising debate in which senior members of his own party denounced the move.
The House of Commons passed the Internal Market Bill by 340 to 263 in its first main vote, allowing it to proceed it to the next stage in the parliamentary process yesterday.
Johnson said the proposed legislation, which would rewrite part of the Withdrawal Agreement, is “essential” to maintain the UK’s economic and political integrity.
Photo: AFP/ PRU
He accused the EU of making “absurd” threats to stop food moving from the British mainland to Northern Ireland.
“The EU hasn’t taken that particular revolver off the table,” Johnson told lawmakers. “It is such an extraordinary threat, and it seems so incredible the EU could do this, that we are not taking powers in this bill to neutralize that threat, but obviously reserve the right to do so if these threats persist.”
Johnson’s decision to rip up part of an international agreement he signed less than a year ago has already pitched the Brexit negotiations into turmoil.
The EU has threatened legal action and called on him to withdraw the bill by the end of the month. Pressing on risks jeopardizing efforts to secure a trade deal with the bloc before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the year.
While the prime minister had a comfortable majority in Monday night’s vote, with only two Conservative lawmakers voting against him for now and others abstaining, there would be opportunities for further rebellions as the bill passes through the Commons.
Johnson would then face a bigger obstacle in the House of Lords, where Conservative grandees — including former leader Michael Howard — have denounced the legislation and could delay its progress.
Lawmakers on both sides of the House of Commons said the government’s admission that the proposed legislation would breach international law would weaken the UK’s place in the world and hobble its attempts to call other countries — including Russia, China and Zimbabwe — to account.
“Britain has been a beacon in some very difficult places of the world for support for the rule of law, and our support is relied upon,” former British secretary of state for international development Andrew Mitchell said.
“We have a duty to uphold the rule of law,” he said.
Former British attorneys general Geoffrey Cox and Jeremy Wright said that they would not back a bill that breaks international law, and were joined by former chancellor of the exchequer Sajid Javid.
Rehman Chishti, Johnson’s special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, quit earlier in the day, saying he could not vote for the plan.
“I understand how some people will feel unease over the use of these powers, and I share that sentiment myself and I have absolutely no desire to use these measures,” Johnson said.
“They are an insurance policy, and if we reach agreement with our European friends — which I still believe is possible — they will never be invoked,” he said.
Conservative rebels did offer the prime minister a potential way out with a proposed amendment — which was not put to a vote on Monday — that would require the government to hold a further vote in the House of Commons before it could change the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement.
For their part, opposition lawmakers lined up to accuse Johnson of failing to deliver on his promise at the general election in December last year that his deal was “oven ready.”
They also said he had failed to live up to his claims that he had provided protection against the exact issues on the Irish border he is now seeking to repair.
“It’s his deal, his mess, his failure,” Labour Party spokesman Ed Miliband told the Commons. “This is the wrong thing to do, it’s not necessary and it’s deeply damaging for the country.”
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese