Philip Hammond leading group of 30 Tory MPs plotting to block No Deal Brexit
PHILIP Hammond is leading a group of 30 Tory MPs plotting to block a No Deal Brexit.
The Chancellor has hosted three meetings with the group since Theresa May announced her departure a month ago.
And he vowed to “find a way” of preventing the next PM taking Britain out of the EU on October 31 without a deal.
The group is made up mainly of serving ministers but a source insisted it was “not about stopping Brexit”.
The insider added: “It’s about ensuring that if the leader goes for No Deal that Parliament gets a say”.
Sky News reported that the group’s aim is to secure a date in October when the rebel MPs will be able to control the Commons agenda and force through legislation to prevent a No Deal.
They are aiming to secure the date before MPs break up for their summer holidays in three weeks’ time.
'PARLIAMENT MUST GET A SAY'
A similar plot to seize control of the Commons agenda succeeded by just one vote earlier this year.
The emergence of Mr Hammond’s group means the total of Tory MPs ready to block a No Deal is now up to 45 - more than enough to secure a majority against the Government.
Mr Hammond said it would be “shocking” if the next PM tried to sideline Parliament to push through a No Deal.
Boris Johnson has refused to rule out suspending Parliament to facilitate a No Deal but Mr Hunt has insisted he will never override MPs.
Mr Hammond said it was “clear” the Commons would never let it happen and cited Speaker John Bercow’s assurances earlier this year when he said MPs will be given a say.
Leading Tory rebel Sir Oliver Letwin believed Remainers had lost their last chance to block a No Deal when a Labour-backed motion was defeated last month.
But Mr Hammond told the BBC’s Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking podcast: “Let me quote the Speaker of the House of Commons, who has said that if the House of Commons is determined to do something, he is quite sure that it will find a way.
“And I am quite confident that the House of Commons will find a way, and indeed should be able to find a way.
Asked about suggestions Mr Johnson could prorogue Parliament to push through a No Deal, the Chancellor said: “It would be, frankly, rather shocking if the House of Commons - the elected representatives of the people - could be simply sidelined by a Government that was doing something that was the exact opposite of what the House of Commons clearly wanted done.”
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