The Northern Ireland backstop contained within the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement would “endure indefinitely” unless something is negotiated to replace it, the U.K. government’s top law officer told Cabinet ministers, according to legal advice released Wednesday.
The backstop is an arrangement intended to prevent the need for a hard border in Northern Ireland. Many MPs have expressed fears that the U.K. would not be able to leave without, in effect, the permission of the EU. The advice from Attorney General Geoffrey Cox appears to confirm that.
“Despite statements in the protocol [the backstop] that it is not intended to be permanent, and the clear intention of the parties that it should be replaced by alternative, permanent arrangements, in international law the protocol would endure indefinitely until a superseding agreement took its place,” he wrote.
The government had argued that the full advice should not be published because it would set a bad precedent, but MPs voted Tuesday to force the government’s hand. The vote held ministers in contempt of parliament for its failure to publish the document.
Labour’s shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer tweeted, “All week we have heard from Government ministers that releasing this information could harm the national interest. Nothing of the sort. All this advice reveals is the central weaknesses in the Government’s deal. It is unthinkable that the Government tried to keep this information from Parliament — and indeed the public — before next week’s vote.”