Ukip rejects plan to invoke Article 50 saying it would ‘fudge’ Brexit

UKIP will campaign to "reject Article 50" and call for Parliament to repeal the European Communities Act instead to get a faster Brexit.

Accusing the PM of not being genuine about wanting to deliver Britain's exit from the EU, Ukip's new Spokesperson for Brexit said this would "put the Government in driving seat".

Gerard Batten said today upon his appointment by the new Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, that Mrs May's strategy was to "delay and delay the whole process in order to fudge it".

"If she were genuine about delivering Brexit she would have triggered Article 50 the moment she became Prime Minister," he said.

"Instead nothing has been done in the last five months."

And in a laughable suggestion that would put our future trading relationships at risk, Mr Batten said that "Ukip's policy will be to reject Article 50" which the Prime Minister has promised to trigger in March of next year.

"Rather, we will call for Parliament to repeal the European Communities Act (1972) immediately as the first step in the process: this will restore law-making supremacy to the UK Parliament and put the British Government in the driving seat of negotiations not the EU."

The policy, which would see Britain fall back on World Trade Organisation trade rules, was backed by Mr Nuttall, who said that Mr Batten's "commitment to seeing Britain leave the EU is second to none".

But the only way to "legally" leave the European Union is through triggering Article 50, and EU officials have said they will not talk to Britain about negotiations until after they receive that notice.

The Government that it would "be a breach of international and EU law to withdraw from the EU".

Repealing the Act would be likely to mean that Britain could not secure a good deal with the EU, and other countries afterwards, the Government argued.

"Such a breach would create a hostile environment in which to negotiate either a new relationship with the remaining EU Member States, or new trade agreements with non-EU countries,"; it said.

The Prime Minister has said she will introduce a Great Repeal Bill to convert all EU requirements into British law as soon as Britain leaves the block.

This will annul the 1972 European Communities Act and at the same time give Parliament the power to scrap EU laws that it does not want.