Michael Gove suggests government could ignore rebels’ anti-no deal law
Cabinet minister Michael Gove has hit back at Tory rebels by suggesting the government could ignore any new law they pass to thwart a no-deal Brexit.
Gove, who is in charge of the government’s no-deal Brexit preparations, was asked by the BBC whether the government would abide by any legislation that MPs might be able to get through the House of Commons and the Lords when they return from recess next week.
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Gove replied: “Let’s see what the legislation says. Let’s see what it says.”
When pressed again, he said: “You are asking me about a pig in a poke, and I will wait to see what legislation the opposition may try to bring forward.
“But for me the most important thing is that we already have legislation in place that an overwhelming majority of MPs voted for.”
Next week MPs from across the political divide who are against a no-deal Brexit will try to seize control of the parliamentary agenda to push through legislation that would require Johnson to seek an extension to Article 50, the mechanism that allows the UK to leave the EU.
Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer told the BBC that the route to block a no-deal Brexit “will be by legislation because I believe there has got to be legislation in place to lock this and make it unlawful for him to take us out without a deal”.
Gove’s comments point to Downing Street’s increasingly hardline stance against Tories who will seek to block a no-deal Brexit when they return to parliament next week.
Yesterday the Sun reported that Downing Street would prevent Tory MPs who moved to block a no-deal Brexit from standing for the party in a general election, which former chancellor Philip Hammond called “staggering hypocritical”.
David Gauke, the former justice secretary, told Sky News that he would support legislative measures in parliament this week despite the threat of having the whip removed.
“Sometimes there is a point where you have to judge between your own personal interests and the national interest, and the national interest has to come first,” he said.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Boris Johnson warned Tory MPs that they faced a stark choice between his leadership or “chaos” with Jeremy Corbyn.
The Prime Minister warned that colleagues who were intent on using “parliamentary shenanigans” to block his pledge to leave the EU on 31 October risked his chances of securing a deal with the EU and putting Corbyn into Downing Street.
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Johnson said: “I just say to everybody in the country, including everyone in parliament, the fundamental choice is this: are you going to side with Jeremy Corbyn and those who want to cancel the referendum? Are you going to side with those who want to scrub the democratic verdict of the people — and plunge this country into chaos?
He added: “Or are you going to side with those of us who want to get on, deliver on the mandate of the people and focus with absolute, laser-like precision on the domestic agenda? That’s the choice.”