Yahoo News Brexit: Boris Johnson’s special envoy and Tory MP resigns from government after amended bill breaks law
A Conservative MP has resigned from the government over Boris Johnson’s plan to break international law over Northern Ireland.
Rehman Chishti, the MP for Gillingham and Rainham in Kent, said he was quitting as the government’s special envoy for freedom of religion.
“I can’t support Internal Market Bill in its current form, which unilaterally break UK’s legal commitments,” Mr Chishti said.
“As an MP for 10 years and former barrister, values of respecting rule of law and honouring one’s word are dear to me.”
The resignation is significant because it is the first from the government over the issue.
Watch: Yahoo UK’s Finance Reporter, Edmund Heaphy explain what a no-deal Brexit actually means, and its potential consequences...
The prime minister has been criticised for his plan to pass a law allowing him override parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement; all the UK’s living former prime ministers have spoken out against the move.
Up to 30 Tory MPs are expected to back a rebel amendment tabled by Sir Bob Neill, the chair of the justice select committee, to the bill. The amendment would give MPs a veto on any attempt to break the agreement.
In a letter to the prime minister sent on Monday, the Kent MP Mr Chishti said: "Having read your letter to colleagues, as well as wider statements on the matter, I will not be able to support this Bill on a matter of principle.
"I have real concerns with the UK unilaterally breaking its legal commitments under the withdrawal agreement. During my 10 years in parliament and before that as a barristers, I have always acted in a matter which respects the rule of law.
"I feel strongly about keeping the commitments we make; if we give our word, then we must honour it. Voting for this Bill as it currently stands would be contrary to the values I hold dearest."
Geoffrey Cox QC, the former attorney general, on Sunday night openly damned the plans, saying he could not support them and that they were "unconscionable”.
But with an effective working majority of around 87 MPs the government is unlikely to be defeated, unless there are a large number of abstentions. MPs will have the opportunity to debate the issue on Monday afternoon at the bill’s second reading.
Read more
International law is a ‘political construct’ and breaking it is ‘routine’, Tory MP says
