EU gives UK 20 days to back down on Brexit Bill but Michael Gove says government ‘won’t back down’

The EU has given Boris Johnson 20 days to back down on his plans to alter the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement or risk collapsing trade talks and face legal action for breaking an international treaty.

Government plans to override elements of the divorce deal over Northern Ireland the Prime Minister signed in January constituted an ‘extremely serious violation’, negotiators from Brussels said today. 

But despite the threat of tearing up large amounts of progress with less than four months until the end of the transition period, Michael Gove promised that the UK ‘will not back down’. 

Brussels has given the Prime Minister until the end of the month to scrap his controversial proposals to override elements of the Withdrawal Agreement. 

The bloc said it will ‘not be shy’ in launching legal proceedings against Britain if the PM fails to change tack as it said negotiations over a trade deal are ‘at risk’. 

But Mr Gove said the UK ‘could not and would not’ retreat on the issue as the chances of the two sides parting ways at the end of the transition period in December without a trade accord increased dramatically. 

Asked if he was willing to swear on his job as Minister for the Cabinet Office that the Government will not back down, Mr Gove replied: ‘Yes.’ 

The trading of barbs came after Mr Gove met with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic for showdown talks in London at lunchtime. 

But rather than reduce tensions the meeting appeared to have deepened the divide between the two sides.

Mr Johnson is said to be facing a revolt by up to 30 Tory MPs, including Brexiteers, over the plans which have caused discomfort in Parliament. 

The rebels have tabled an amendment that would bar the government from overriding the withdrawal agreement without support from parliament.

A government source told The Times that MPs rebelling on the Internal Market Bill would not have the whip removed, unlike those who voted against Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal last year. 

And the government is also facing opposition from peers, with Lord Michael Howard, a prominent Brexiteer, becoming the third former Tory leader after Sir John Major and Theresa May to criticise the move.

Former Chancellor Lord Norman Lamont said there was ‘no way’ that the legislation would pass through the Lords. 

The EU said in a statement that if the Government goes ahead with its plans to row back on commitments made in the Withdrawal Agreement it would ‘constitute an extremely serious violation’ of the treaty and of international law. 

It demanded Number 10 scrap its proposals ‘in the shortest time possible and in any case by the end of the month’ as it said the UK had ‘seriously damaged trust’ between Britain and Brussels.

The bloc said ‘it is now up to the UK government to re-establish that trust’ as it warned there will be consequences if Mr Johnson does not perform a U-turn.

The statement said Mr Sefcovic told Mr Gove ‘the Withdrawal Agreement contains a number of mechanisms and legal remedies to address violations of the legal obligations contained in the text – which the European Union will not be shy in using’. 

The EU said it ‘does not accept’ the UK’s argument that the PM’s proposals are necessary in order to protect the Good Friday Agreement and actually believes Mr Johnson’s approach ‘does the opposite’.  

Michel Barnier and his British counterpart Lord Frost wrapped up the latest round of Brexit trade talks this afternoon, with gloom growing about the prospects of a breakthrough. 

Mr Barnier said while the EU had ‘shown flexibility’ on the UK’s red lines, the UK had ‘not engaged in a reciprocal way’. He said the two negotiating teams will ‘remain in contact’ but insisted the EU is ‘intensifying its preparedness work to be ready for all scenarios on 1 January 2021’. 

Officials from the bloc have been briefing that they believe the UK is deliberately trying to blow up the process, and has already decided there will not be a deal. 

The Government yesterday published its UK Internal Market Bill which ministers have admitted will break international law but insist is necessary to protect the Northern Ireland peace process. 

The Bill would see the UK unilaterally decide key details relating to the Brexit divorce deal. 

Brussels is adamant the details, which include customs arrangements between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland, must be settled by a joint committee comprised of people from both sides.  

Mr Gove said the UK Government will not be agreeing to the EU’s demand to withdraw the legislation. 

‘The UK Government is committed to the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and the protocol,’ he said.

‘Vice-president Sefcovic also requested that the UK withdraw its Internal Market legislation.

‘I explained to vice-president Sefcovic that we could not and would not do that and instead I stressed the vital importance of reaching agreement through the joint committee on these important questions.’

Asked if he was willing to swear on his Cabinet role that the Government will not back down, Mr Gove said: ‘Yes. I made it perfectly clear to vice president Sefcovic that we would not be withdrawing this legislation and he understood that, of course he regretted it.

‘But we also stressed the vital importance of making progress.’

Ministers today signalled their intention to crash the legislation through the House of Commons over the next two weeks.

Downing Street did not reject the claim that it was seeking to fast track the laws through Parliament. 

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman suggested the swift timetable was necessary to ‘ensure it is on the statute book by the beginning of 2021’. 

The Government published its legal argument for breaking international law shortly before Brussels issued its demands. 

The Government argued that while countries are obliged to discharge treaty obligations ‘in good faith’ the UK is facing ‘difficult and highly exceptional circumstances’ and ‘it is important to remember the fundamental principle of Parliamentary sovereignty’.  

‘Parliament is sovereign as a matter of domestic law and can pass legislation which is in breach of the UK’s Treaty obligations,’ the Government said. 

‘Parliament would not be acting unconstitutionally in enacting such legislation.’ 

But Labour’s shadow attorney general Lord Falconer said the Government had offered ‘no justification whatsoever for the UK acting in breach of the Northern Ireland protocol and there is no justification for breaking the terms of that agreement’.

The Liberal Democrats urged ministers to listen to the EU’s ultimatum and accused the PM of ‘playing fast and loose with the rule of law’. 

‘No one can really be surprised that the measures the UK Government have brought forward have put the likelihood of a trade deal in jeopardy,’ the party’s Brexit spokesman Christine Jardine said.

‘This proposal undermines trust and the UK’s standing on the world stage. 

‘The Government must now act swiftly to erase anything that violates international law or that could undermine the Good Friday Agreement. 

‘For the sake of the future of our country the Government must stop playing fast and loose with the rule of law.’ 

Remain campaigners accused Mr Johnson of ‘painting the entire country into a very small corner’. 

Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith said: ‘The international reputation of brand Britain is being shredded, our chances of desperately-needed trade deals with the EU and US – which he promised us – are shrinking by the hour, and the country is still trying to fathom how to cope with Covid-19, never mind recover from its impact.’

Mr Johnson is also facing a growing Tory rebellion on the issue amid considerable backbench disquiet over the decision to pursue a strategy which will leave the UK in breach of international law.  

Lord Howard today became the third former leader of the Conservative Party to criticise Mr Johnson as the PM was accused of putting the UK’s global reputation as a trustworthy nation at risk. 

The peer, who served as Tory leader from 2003 to 2005, told a Government minister in the House of Lords: ‘Does my noble and learned friend simply not understand the damage done to our reputation for probity and respect for the rule of law by those five words uttered by his ministerial colleague in another place on Tuesday?

‘Words which I never thought I would hear uttered by a British minister, far less a Conservative minister.

‘How can we reproach Russia or China or Iran when their conduct falls below internationally accepted standards when we are showing such scant regard for treaty obligations.’

Sir John Major and Theresa May had both already criticised Mr Johnson.  

Sir John yesterday warned: ‘For generations, Britain’s word – solemnly given – has been accepted by friend and foe. Our signature on any treaty or agreement has been sacrosanct.

‘Over the last century, as our military strength has dwindled, our word has retained its power. If we lose our reputation for honouring the promises we make, we will have lost something beyond price that may never be regained.’ 

Mrs May said on Tuesday: ‘The United Kingdom Government signed the Withdrawal Agreement with the Northern Ireland protocol. This Parliament voted that Withdrawal Agreement into UK legislation. The Government is now changing the operation of that agreement. 

‘Given that, how can the Government reassure future international partners that the UK can be trusted to abide by the legal obligations of the agreements it signs?’ 

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis sparked outrage earlier this week by bluntly admitting that the measures proposed by Mr Johnson will breach international law. 

And Downing Street claimed yesterday that the Withdrawal Agreement was ‘not like any other treaty’ because it was sealed ‘at pace in the most challenging possible political circumstances’.

Mr Johnson said at PMQs that his first responsibility was to protect the Peace Process.  

‘My job is to uphold the integrity of the UK but also to protect the Northern Irish peace process and the Good Friday Agreement,’ the PM said.

‘To do that we need a legal safety net to protect our country against extreme or irrational interpretations of the protocol, which could lead to a border down the Irish Sea in a way that I believe – and I think members around the House believe – would be prejudicial to the interests of the Good Friday Agreement and prejudicial to the interests of peace in our country. That has to be our priority.’  

However, the PM’s approach has spooked some US politicians who have warned there will be no chance of a trans-Atlantic trade deal if the UK does anything to undermine the Northern Ireland peace process. 

Nancy Pelosi, the US Speaker of the House, underlined the high stakes as she delivered a stark warning. 

She said last night that there was ‘absolutely no chance’ of Congress passing an American trade deal with the UK if the Good Friday Agreement was ‘imperilled’. 

In a statement Ms Pelosi said: ‘The Good Friday Agreement is the bedrock of peace in Northern Ireland and an inspiration for the whole world.  

‘Whatever form it takes, Brexit cannot be allowed to imperil the Good Friday Agreement, including the stability brought by the invisible and frictionless border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.

‘The UK must respect the Northern Ireland Protocol as signed with the EU to ensure the free flow of goods across the border.

‘If the UK violates that international treaty and Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord, there will be absolutely no chance of a US-UK trade agreement passing the Congress.

‘The Good Friday Agreement is treasured by the American people and will be proudly defended in the United States Congress.’