Boris Johnson ‘has secret plan’ to keep Brexit on track… but only three others in Downing Street know what it is
- Officials have found a loophole in the law passed by rebel MPs to block No Deal
- The information is so sensitive that even members of Mr Johnson’s inner circle have not been briefed on it
- The identities of the advisers are unknown, but may include Dominic Cummings
Downing Street has a secret plan to keep Brexit on track – but it has only been seen by Boris Johnson and three key advisers, it was claimed last night.
Officials believe they have found a loophole in the law passed by rebel MPs to block No Deal. But the information is so sensitive that even members of Mr Johnson’s inner circle have not been briefed on it.
The identities of the three key advisers are unknown, but it is thought they could include Mr Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic Cummings, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.
Opposition parties joined with rebel Tories a fortnight ago to push through legislation binding the Prime Minister’s hands on Brexit.
Officials believe they have found a loophole in the law passed by rebel MPs to block No Deal. But the information is so sensitive that even members of Mr Johnson’s inner circle have not been briefed on it. Pictured: Boris Johnson and his special adviser Dominic Cummings
The bill states that if a Brexit deal has not been passed by the Commons by October 19 then Mr Johnson must write a letter to Brussels asking for an extension, which he has repeatedly insisted he will not do.
Anti-Brexit barrister Jolyon Maugham, who has been involved in a number of legal actions relating to the country’s departure from the EU, last night appeared to give credence to the idea that the law on No Deal might not work.
He wrote that if MPs voted for a deal the first time round, the anti-No Deal legislation would no longer force Mr Johnson to beg Brussels for an extension.
The identities of the three key advisers are unknown, but it is thought they could include Mr Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic Cummings (pictured), Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox
But MPs could then do a U-turn and oppose the deal before it was made law, leaving the Government free to pursue No Deal.
It comes ahead of a separate legal battle over whether Mr Johnson was acting within the law when he suspended Parliament for five weeks. The case will be heard at the Supreme Court tomorrow.
MPs and peers have been sent away from Westminster until October 14.
At a meeting with ministerial aides on Friday evening, Mr Cummings said that if the court ruled against the Government, ‘we could just prorogue again.
The constitutional crisis is only just beginning.’ Downing Street sources last night insisted the remarks were intended as a joke.
Meanwhile, in a paper published by the Policy Exchange think-tank, Oxford law professor Richard Ekins argued ‘proroguing Parliament in no way flouts parliamentary sovereignty’.
He added: ‘The power to prorogue is an important feature of the Westminster constitution and enables the Government to control the timing and length of parliamentary sessions, a power which it is free to use to manage parliamentary business.
‘The Government is responsible to the Commons, and eventually to the electorate, for its use of this power. It is open to political criticism if it is seen to misuse the power, but unless and until confidence is withdrawn it is entitled to use it.’