Priti Patel insists Brexit bill is not breaking the law as Commons passes controversial Internal Market proposal

Joe Murphy @JoeMurphyLondon15 September 2020
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Priti Patel today contradicted Cabinet colleague Brandon Lewis by denying his dramatic Commons admission that the Government is ready to break international law in a “very specific and limited way”.

Speaking after a major rebellion by around 20 senior Conservatives against the new Internal Market Bill , the Home Secretary appeared to signal a climbdown by declaring: “We are absolutely not doing that.”

Ms Patel’s change of message came hours after Tory rebels fired a strong warning shot in a vote last night on the Bill, which could override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement that Boris Johnson signed in January.

This morning the MPs warned that the rebellion would grow if the Prime Minister did not make concessions.

Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell vowed: “Quite deliberately voting to breach international law is something which I cannot do.”

Another former minister told the Standard that many of last night’s abstainers would vote against the Government in a week on an amendment put down by Sir Bob Neill, the Justice committee chair, to give Parliament a vote before any breach of international law.

In the debate last night, Michael Gove hinted at a partial U-turn by telling Sir Bob he was “onto something”. Prime Minister Mr Johnson told MPs yesterday that powers would be held “in reserve” and only used as a last resort.

Last week Mr Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, told MPs the Bill would “break international law in a very specific and limited way”.

But when asked about Mr Lewis’s words on Sky News, Ms Patel declared: “We are absolutely not doing that. The purpose of the Bill is to ensure we preserve the integrity of the UK.”

She added: “Parliament is sovereign when it comes to how international treaties are not only interpreted but applied through Acts of Parliament.”

Ms Patel stressed later on BBC Radio 4’s Today: “This is a safety net. And that is why we have introduced this in this particular Bill.”

It follows a week of changes in the way ministers tried to explain the Bill, which was at first presented as merely “tidying up” loose ends. It passed its second reading with 340 votes to 263 — a majority of 77.

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