Theresa May denies misleading parliament over Brexit

Theresa May has been forced to deny that she misled parliament following the publication of Brexit advice given to Cabinet.

Theresa May returned to the House of Commons yesterday after a series of stunning defeats by MPs that threaten her government and could change the course of Brexit. Picture: Ben STANSALL / AFP

British prime minister Theresa May has been forced to deny that she misled parliament following the publication of Brexit advice given to Cabinet, including details about Northern Ireland being regarded differently to the rest of the United Kingdom.

The second day of a five day debate on the Brexit withdrawal bill was overshadowed by the release of attorney general Geoffrey Cox’s legal advice after the government was found to be in contempt of parliament. His legal opinions appear to have hardened the already strident opposition to Mrs May’s deal, which will be put to the vote in Westminster next Tuesday.

Mr Cox’s advice confirmed the country would be tied “indefinitely in the backstop and would endure indefinitely until a succeeded agreement took place’’.

His advice shows that it is impossible for the UK to get out of the backstop arrangements, even with best endeavours, as the wording of the deal guarantees the country is locked into it without a superseding agreement.

But Mr Cox’s advice makes it clear that Northern Ireland will be treated differently to the rest of Britain and tied into the existing EU customs arrangement. The rest of Britain will have to form another UK-EU customs arrangement if the deal is passed. This means there will have to be some form of a customs declaration between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Democratic Union Party deputy leader Nigel Dodds said the release of the attorney general’s advice in regards to Northern Ireland was “devastating’’.

“The events of recent days have exposed the Government,’’ he said.

“How can they possibly recommend such a bad deal to Parliament and the people of the United Kingdom? For all the Prime Minister’s promises and pledges the legal advice is crystal clear. In her words, no British Prime Minister could ever accept such a situation.’’

The DUP crossed the floor and voted with the opposition on Tuesday to inflict three devastating and humiliating defeats for the government, and will also oppose the Brexit deal.

Tory MP and lawyer Dominic Grieve told Sky News: “We have tried to gloss over rather unpleasant facts, but it (the deal) does create a separate regime for Northern Ireland, and if there is ever a diversion, Northern Ireland is left with the EU.’’

Brexiteer and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson told the BBC the legal advice showed the predatory nature of the EU and that “Northern Ireland will be separate from the UK in important ways’’. He said the current deal was “a papier mache, pseudo Brexit’’.

The Scottish nationalist party leader at Westminster Ian Blackford told parliament that Mrs May had concealed these facts on her Brexit deal and inadvertently misled the House of Commons in regards to the Irish backstop.

Mrs May responded: “We have not concealed the facts from this house, ... we have very clearly set out the legal position.’’

Meanwhile in the House of Lords, an EU committee has published an extensive report highlighting the extraordinary and secretive powers of a proposed joint UK-EU committee under the Brexit Withdrawal deal.

The report says the committee is not subject to clear scrutiny procedures or parliamentary oversight, nor will it operate in an open and transparent way.