Wednesday evening saw prime minister Boris Johnson reach a deal with rebel Tory MPs over the Internal Market Bill, the BBC reports.
More than 30 Conservative MPs were expected to vote for an amendment to the legislation, tabled by Sir Bob Neill, next week. If passed, it would have meant that any changes to the EU Withdrawal Agreement would have to be given consent by a vote in Parliament.
However, Johnson has now promised to hand MPs “an extra layer of Parliamentary oversight” to stave off any rebellion in the Commons, after earlier reports from the Telegraph on Tuesday suggested that he would make a concession.
Writing for iNews, Sir Bob said that the amendment was intended “to put a Parliamentary lock on the powers the government is seeking to give itself”.
He wrote: "Taking a sledgehammer to the entire bill would be the wrong approach. There is a great deal of good in it, with 51 of its 54 clauses fairly innocuous for the large majority.
"However, the gravity of the three remaining clauses require, at the very least, additional checks and balances.
"My amendment would ensure further Parliamentary approval is secured before the government can discharge them."
The bill was voted through by MPs in the Commons on Monday but still must be scrutinised at the committee stage and pass through the House of Lords to be enshrined in law.
The prime minister has insisted that the bill protects the “territorial integrity” of the UK if a free trade deal cannot be agreed with the EU.
Addressing the Commons Liaison Committee on Wednesday, Johnson said the bill was required to safeguard against a possible “extreme” interpretation of the Northern Ireland Protocol by Brussels.
When asked by Labour MP Hillary Benn about whether he believed the EU was negotiating with the UK in good faith, Johnson replied: “I don’t believe they are.”
But the PM added: “It is always possible that I am mistaken and perhaps they will prove my suspicions wrong".
He told the committee that walking away from the negotiating table without a free trade deal is “not what this country wants” and “it’s not what our EU friends and partners want from us”.
Earlier on Wednesday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called on the UK not to follow through on passing the legislation after it prompted anger in Europe.
Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash
