Brexit: David Davis warns MPs to leave bill unchanged

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David Davis wants the prime minister to be free to get on with the job of triggering Brexit

The Brexit secretary has urged MPs to leave the bill for exiting the EU unchanged when it is debated in the Commons on Monday.

David Davis said he will ask MPs to throw out measures to allow for a “meaningful” parliamentary vote on the final exit package.

If MPs pass the bill, the prime minister could trigger Article 50 as early as Tuesday.

Theresa May has said she would rather walk away than agree to a “bad deal”.

Monday will be the second time MPs debate and vote on the EU withdrawal bill.

Ping pong bill

Mr Davis will also call on the Commons to consider a vote that guarantees the rights of EU citizens in the UK.

“However they voted in the referendum, the majority of people now want the prime minister to be able to get on with the job,” he said.

The amendments were made to the Brexit bill after they were backed by a majority of peers, most recently last week.

Labour, which claims it is the only party with a “radical vision” for Brexit, has also appealed to Mrs May to let them go through.

The bill could complete its final stages on Monday if the Lords accepts the decisions made by MPs when it votes on it earlier in the day.

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Theresa May has repeatedly said that no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain

Meanwhile, an influential committee of MPs has said there was a real possibility the talks could end with no resolution and called on ministers to draw up a plan if a deal fails to be agreed.

“It is clear from our evidence that a complete breakdown in negotiations represents a very destructive outcome, leading to mutually assured damage for the EU and the UK,” the Commons foreign affairs committee said.

“Both sides would suffer economic loss and harm to their international reputations.”

Failure to prepare for such outcome would be a “serious dereliction of duty,” the MPs said.

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Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said the government had been “reckless” not to prepare for a Leave vote and also in its approach to Article 50 negotiations.

“All we have heard from the government so far is that if there is no deal, they are prepared to “break the British economic model”.

“There are some very serious issues highlighted in this report which must be addressed. It is completely inadequate to brush these questions off and claim what would happen without a deal is “an exercise in guesswork”.”

The UK could trigger Article 50, the formal process for leaving the EU, as early as Tuesday, if MPs accept the amendments.

Once Mrs May starts the process it will begin a two-year period of negotiation.

Parliament involvement

Conservatives Alistair Burt and Jeremy Lefroy have said Parliament should have a proper role in the plans.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, they said there is “determination” by ministers to be involved in talks whether an agreement is reached and if there is a no deal.

“There is an absolute logic that Parliament should be given a say in both circumstances but the government has been reluctant to agree to a vote in the case of no deal, arguing it would hamper negotiations.

“But if the UK’s stance is not weakened by having to seek a vote on a final deal, why should the government fear a vote on “no deal”?

“Just because the consequences of a vote at the end of the process are immense, there is no reason to deny Parliament that vote.”

Brexit: David Davis warns MPs to leave bill unchanged}