MPs could be forced to sit between Christmas and New Year to enshrine a Brexit deal into law
MPs could be forced to sit between Christmas and the New Year to enshrine a Brexit deal into law, The Sun has learnt.
Government officials have drawn up contingency timetables in case they need to pass the necessary legislation at breakneck speed over the Christmas week.
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They even checked when Parliament last sat on Christmas Day as part of their contingency planning - and found it would be the first time since 1656.
Any Brexit trade deal agreed with the EU must be enshrined in law before the end of the transition period on December 31 by passing through both Houses of Parliament.
If there is no new trading agreement in place by January 1 then the UK and the EU resort to trading on baseline World Trade Organisation rules.
Senior government sources said they are hoping to wrap everything up by Christmas Eve.
But while they would avoid forcing MPs to sit on Christmas Day, they said the Government would be willing to drag MPs back to Parliament on Monday December 28 despite it being a Bank Holiday.
MPs could even ratify the deal on New Year’s Eve - a day before any new trade deal would take effect.
LOOSE ENDS
A source said: “Anything’s possible.”
“Parliament will do whatever it takes to get any deal onto the statute book.
"Parliament has shown it is able to move quickly if it needs to and that certainly applies here for sure.
“Parliament won’t be the block on passing a Brexit deal this time around. We’ll sit through the Christmas week if needed.
“In a scenario where we reached an agreement with the EU and implementation has to happen before the end of the transition period, we’re confident Parliament would implement it in time.”
And MPs could be left in limbo right throughout the Christmas period with the possibility of having to return at any time.
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This is because there is still no official date for when Parliament breaks up for Christmas as it is dependent on the outcome of Brexit talks.
The last day was pencilled in for next Thursday but the date is likely to slip due to the ongoing Brexit talks.
A source said: "Parliament keeps on sitting until the Government tables a recess motion and that won’t happen until we are confident all loose ends have been tied up.”
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