MORE than 21 Tory MPs are reportedly set to rebel against Theresa May attempts to have the exact time and date of Brexit made law.
The Prime Minister faces almost certain defeat over the effort when the House of Commons votes on the measure next month, at the end of the eight days set aside for the line-by-line scrutiny of the EU (withdrawal) Bill.
The split in the party over having 11pm GMT on 29 March 2019 as the exact moment Britain stops being European in the statute books, saw some of those who plan on voting against the Tory leader, appearing on the front page of the Daily Telegraph underneath the headline: “The Brexit Mutineers”.
East Renfrewshire Paul Masterton was one of those “mutineers”.
On Twitter he explained his reasons for rejecting the amendment: “Placing the date and time of exit on the bill weakens and undermines the Government’s negotiating position and blocks a flexibility we may want to use. It is a symbolic not substantial amendment. It is unnecessary, unhelpful, and when it comes to a vote on day 8, I won’t support it”.
There was, however, a backlash against the paper’s coverage from all parts of the party, with prominent Brexiteers distancing themselves from the coverage.
Brexit minister Steve Baker said he had “respect” for colleagues saying they had put forward “sincere suggestions to improve the bill which we are working through and I respect them for that”.
Michael Gove agreed.
Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt tweeted that MPs pictured were a, “fabulous collection of some of the best MPs in the country.
“How small the Telegraph appears in comparison,” he added.
Anna Soubry, who was also pictured, said she had received death threats because of the front page.
She told the House of Commons: “According to my office, they have just reported about five, if not more, tweets to the police issuing threats against myself following the front-page article on today’s Daily Telegraph.”
She asked the Speaker, John Bercow, to “make it very clear to everybody, in whatever capacity, that they have an absolute duty to report responsibly and make sure they use language that brings our country together and makes sure that we have a democracy that welcomes free speech and an attitude of tolerance”.
One tweet called for her and the “mutineers” to be hung drawn and quartered; while another said she deserved a similar fate to murdered MP Jo Cox.
During the debate MPs were arguing over a Labour MPs amendment to the bill that would keep the UK in the single market.
Labour former shadow cabinet minister Heidi Alexander said there had never been a mandate for the sort of deal the Government is seeking in negotiations with the EU.
She said:”Now some people say ‘well everyone knew it meant we’d be leaving the single market’, but that is simply an interpretation of the result - some people may have voted believing that, others didn’t.”
The SNP’s Peter Grant said: “There has not been a referendum to say we have to leave the single market, that means it can be changed by the will of this Parliament”.
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