Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary says that goverment’s threat of leaving EU without deal is ‘political hoax’

Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer has said the government’s threat of leaving the EU without a deal is a “political hoax”. He said Parliament must “take back control” instead if the government’s plan is rejected by MPs.

“There is no duty on MPs to surrender to a bad deal,” he writes in the Sunday Times. A Downing Street source said the government aimed to secure an agreement with the EU soon, but not at any cost.

The BBC reports that any deal reached between the government and the EU is likely to have to rely on the 10 votes from MPs in the Democratic Unionist Party for a majority in Parliament. Labour confirmed its willingness to vote down the agreement and a key DUP MP also sounded a warning. Sammy Baker, the party’s Brexit spokesman, has written a opinion article together with Steve Baker, a Tory MP who is deputy chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group. In the piece, the duo rejected the current plans.