Brexit news: EU leaders vow to block any trade deal if Boris Johnson breaches withdrawal agreement as Ireland accuses PM of ‘unprecedented provocation’
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European parliament leaders have vowed to block any future UK-EU trade deal if Boris Johnson goes ahead with a bill which would violate the Brexit withdrawal agreement, after the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said it was increasing its planning for a no-deal scenario.
The prime minister sought to fend off a looming revolt, reportedly telling some 250 Tory MPs that his planned breach was “necessary to stop a foreign power from breaking up our country” but that there was “no time for questions”, after Tory rebels tabled an amendment that would give parliament a veto on his Internal Market Bill.
It comes as Ireland’s Europe minister said the move to renege on last year’s deal was a “unilateral provocative act” that was “uniquely unprecedented” in history.
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PM urges Tory MPs to back changes to Brexit deal
Boris Johnson has pleaded with fractious Tory MPs to back him in his bust-up with Brussels, amid Downing Street fears of a backbench rebellion against measures which ministers admit break international law.
In a Friday evening video conference call, the prime minister sought to answer deep anxieties over provisions in his UK Internal Market Bill which have been condemned by three former prime ministers and provoked Brussels to threaten legal action.
Boris Johnson urges Tory MPs to back changes to Brexit deal amid fears of rebellion
Former prime minister Gordon Brown denounces ‘act of self-harm’
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