Theresa May gives stark warning to Tory rebels not to join forces with anti-Brexit MPs to alter Article 50 bill
THERESA May has made a stark warning to potential Conservative rebels they will be "obstructing" the will of the people if they join forces with Brexit rebels to alter Article 50 bill
The Prime Minister made the comments as she prepared herself for a major rebellion on the Article 50 legislation, with potentially dozens of her own MPs voting with Labour and the SNP.
Speaking in the House she said the Commons has already clearly voted in support of the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, which will allow her to trigger the formal exit process.
It is returning to the Commons this week for a further three days of debate during committee stage, giving MPs the chance to amend the legislation.
Mrs May warned pro-Remain Tories against backing amendments seeking to ensure Parliament gets a say on the "endgame" if Brexit negotiations collapse without a deal.
The PM has made clear she will walk away from talks if no deal can be reached, but potential rebels on her backbenches are worried about quitting the EU without an agreement, with potentially serious consequences for the economy.
In a Commons statement on last week's informal EU summit in Malta, Mrs May warned them: "Our European partners now want to get on with the negotiations, so do I, and so does this House, which last week voted by a majority of 384 in support of the Government triggering Article 50.
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"There are of course further stages for the Bill in committee and in the Lords and it is right that this process should be completed properly.
"But the message is clear to all - this House has spoken and now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed wishes of the British people.
"It is time to get on with leaving the European Union and building an independent, self-governing, global Britain."
Guess who's back?
DIANE Abbott was spotted back in Parliament this afternoon - days after she went home with a migraine and missed the crunch Brexit vote.
Last week the Shadow Home Secretary faced hostility from her fellow MPs after she went home ill before the crucial vote on triggering Article 50. Ms Abbott was off for the rest of the week. She faced calls to step down from her position in the Shadow Cabineet - which was ordered to vote in favour of triggering Article 50 by the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. 47 of his MPs defied his wishes - including a dozen of his frontbenchers.
Mrs May sought to ease concerns over the rights of EU nationals already in the UK, which reports last week suggested as another potential flashpoint for rebellion.
The PM said the "general view" from the summit in Valletta was that the UK and EU need to reach an agreement that applies equally to citizens of both parties.
"This means that Britain taking a unilateral decision to guarantee EU nationals' status is "not the right way forward", Mrs May said.
"But, as I have said before, EU citizens living in the UK make a vital contribution to our economy and our society and without them we would be poorer and our public services weaker," she said.
"So we will make securing the reciprocal agreement that will guarantee their status a priority as soon as the negotiations begin, and I want to see this agreed as soon as possible because that is in everyone's interests."