Ignoring law around no-deal Brexit a ‘non-starter’, warns Bercow

Commons speaker John Bercow has warned Boris Johnson that parliament will not allow the UK to leave the European Union without a deal unless MPs explicitly vote for it. And he said it was astonishing that anyone in government would consider that the prime minister could ignore legislation obliging him to seek a three-month delay to Brexit if he has not secured a deal by October 19th.

“Not obeying the law must surely be a non-starter. Period. Surely, in 2019, in modern Britain, in a parliamentary democracy. We, parliamentarians, legislators, cannot in all conscience be conducting a debate as to whether adherence to the law is or isn’t required,” he said.

“What conceivable moral force do the public’s elected representatives have in seeking to tackle anti-social behaviour, in prosecuting with greater vigour and imagination and relentlessness the fight against knife crime, in arguing that the state must protect itself against all sorts of nefarious illegality if we are to treat for a moment with the proposition that it might be in order, in the name of some higher cause, to disregard a law enacted by parliament?”

‘Heavy lifting’

Mr Bercow, who will step down after 10 years in the speaker’s chair on October 31st, said MPs would have to do some “heavy lifting” next month if the prime minister secures a withdrawal deal that can command a majority in parliament.

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Mr Johnson has stated repeatedly that he will not seek an article 50 extension under any circumstances, although he says he will not break the law.

The prime minister on Thursday denied that he lied to Queen Elizabeth about his reasons for suspending parliament for five weeks. Scotland's highest court ruled on Wednesday that the suspension was unlawful because Mr Johnson's purpose was to stymie parliament in its scrutiny of his Brexit policy.

The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has told MEPs there remain insufficient grounds for reopening formal negotiations over the Northern Irish backstop because the UK has not yet proposed a credible alternative.

‘Concrete proposals’

“We will see in the coming weeks if the British are able to make concrete proposals in writing that are legally operational,” he said. “While we have previously reached an agreement, as far as we can speak, we have no reason to be optimistic.”

Mr Barnier said the legislation requiring Mr Johnson to seek an article 50 extension did not remove the risk of a no-deal Brexit.

“A no-deal will never be the choice of the union. But we do not have the ability to avoid this scenario alone,” he said.

A further delay to Brexit would require the unanimous approval of all EU leaders but Luxembourg's prime minister Xavier Bettel said on Thursday there was no reason to give Britain an extension.

“When there are concrete reasons . . . we will discuss whether we will give a new mandate or a new extension, but that is not the case at the moment,” he said. “As long as there aren’t any concrete proposals, there is no reason for us to reopen anything.”