Brexit news latest: David Davis dramatically urges cabinet mutiny over Theresa May’s plan

Tory MP David Davis has called for the cabinet to rebel over Brexit
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Patrick Grafton-Green15 October 2018
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David Davis has dramatically called for a cabinet mutiny against Theresa May’s Brexit plan, which he described as “completely unacceptable”.

The Prime Minister is facing a huge battle over a plan which could keep the UK in a customs union to avoid a hard border with Ireland.

It comes as negotiations continue in Brussels ahead of a key summit starting on Wednesday,

Prominent Brexiteers have already been piling pressure on the prime minister, and now former Brexit secretary Mr Davis has urged cabinet ministers to "exert their collective authority".

Theresa May is under growing pressure ahead of a key Brussels summit on Wednesday
REUTERS

With continued speculation that Leave-supporting cabinet ministers could resign if Mrs May presses ahead with the plan, Mr Davis said: "This is one of the most fundamental decisions that government has taken in modern times."

Writing in the Sunday Times, he added: "It is time for the cabinet to exert their collective authority. This week the authority of our constitution is on the line."

Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster is reported to have said that a no-deal Brexit is now the most likely outcome after talks with senior figures including Michel Barnier in Brussels.

Her party is opposed to any customs arrangement which would result in Northern Ireland being "annexed" or impose extra checks on goods travelling to or from Great Britain.

The issue of the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland is one of the last remaining obstacles to achieving a divorce deal with Brussels, with wrangling continuing over the nature of a "backstop" to keep the frontier open if a wider UK-EU trade arrangement cannot resolve it.

The EU’s version, which would see just Northern Ireland remain aligned with Brussels' rules, has been called unacceptable by Mrs May and is loathed by the DUP.

Mrs May's counter-proposal is for a "temporary customs arrangement" for the whole UK, but Tory Brexiteers are suspicious this could turn into a permanent situation, restricting the freedom to strike trade deals around the world.

The Sunday Times said at least nine ministers want Mrs May to change course when the cabinet meets on Tuesday.

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Speculation about possible resignations has centred on Andrea Leadsom, Penny Mordaunt and Esther McVey, but the newspaper also indicated that Scottish Secretary David Mundell and Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson could quit because special arrangements for Northern Ireland could fuel the case for Scottish independence.

Mrs May's own position also appeared in jeopardy, with as many as 44 letters demanding a vote of no confidence reportedly submitted to the Conservative 1922 Committee - just four short of the number required to trigger a ballot.

The Northern Irish situation is politically problematic for Mrs May because her minority administration depends on the votes of the 10 DUP MPs.

A leaked email reported in the Observer indicated Mrs Foster was ready to block a Brexit deal.

According to a private email exchange between senior UK officials, seen by the newspaper, Mrs Foster gave her views during a dinner with the leader of Conservative MEPs, Ashley Fox.

The leaked email said Mrs Foster described the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Mr Barnier as "difficult and hostile" and indicated "the DUP were ready for a no-deal scenario, which she now believed was the likeliest one".

A further demonstration of Tory resistance to Mrs May's plans came from MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that "the idea of remaining in the customs union after the end of the transition period... means simply delaying Brexit and causing the 17.4 million people who voted for it to lose faith in our democracy".

Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the European Research Group of pro-Brexit MPs, warned that when it came to the backstop proposal "temporary means eternal".

Additional reporting by Press Association

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