Brexit latest: Oliver Letwin urges MPs to back programme motion
Oliver Letwin has urged MPs to back the government on tonight’s programme motion as “the least of the evils”, after the Prime Minister threatened to pull the entire Brexit bill if he was defeated.
Introducing the Brexit bill, formally called the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, Boris Johnson this afternoon told MPs he would abandon the bill and instead seek an election before Christmas if MPs blocked him rushing it through the House of Commons in three days.
“I will in no way allow months more of this,” Johnson said. “If parliament refuses to allow Brexit to happen and instead gets its way and decides to delay everything until January or possibly longer, in no circumstances can the government continue with this.
“And with great regret, I must say the bill will have to be pulled and we will have to go forward to a general election,” he said.
The bill would be pulled only if the EU grants a three-month extension to 31 January, as stipulated by the Benn Act, City PM understands.
Opening, Johnson also referenced Letwin’s amendment which derailed the government’s efforts to win a meaningful vote on “Super Saturday”, which would have stopped the Benn Act from being triggered. However, after MPs backed the amendment the Prime Minister was forced to write a letter to the EU seeking an extension to Article 50.
Letwin, who is fighting a no deal Brexit, this afternoon tweeted: “Getting seriously worried that HMG will pull Bill if Programme Motion is defeated. Surely best for all of us who regard this deal as the least of the evils to vote for the Programme Motion, whatever we really think of it.”
Main image: Getty