Johnson faces revolt over plan to break Brexit treaty | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
June 12, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2025
Johnson faces revolt over plan to break Brexit treaty

World+Biz

Reuters
14 September, 2020, 12:15 pm
Last modified: 14 September, 2020, 07:56 pm

Related News

  • UK ex-PM Johnson says he planned raid on Dutch factory to get COVID vaccines
  • Boris Johnson issues surprise last-ditch UK election rallying cry
  • Former UK PM Johnson denies he wanted to let Covid 'rip'
  • Ex-PM Johnson apologises to families of UK Covid victims
  • UK lawmakers set to punish ex-PM Johnson for 'Partygate lies'

Johnson faces revolt over plan to break Brexit treaty

Johnson’s plan to explicitly break international law has plunged Brexit back into crisis less than four months before Britain is finally due to leave the EU’s orbit at the end of a transition period, and jeopardised trade talks

Reuters
14 September, 2020, 12:15 pm
Last modified: 14 September, 2020, 07:56 pm
UK PM Boris Johnson. File Photo: Reuters
UK PM Boris Johnson. File Photo: Reuters

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will try to persuade rebellious lawmakers in his party to vote on Monday for a bill that would break international law by breaching parts of the Brexit divorce deal and that Brussels says will wreck trade talks.

The House of Commons will debate the Internal Market Bill, which the EU has demanded Johnson scrap by the end of September, in the latest brinkmanship of a four-year saga since Britain voted narrowly to leave the bloc.

After the debate, in a vote that may come late, lawmakers will decide if the bill should go to the next stage.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Johnson's plan to explicitly break international law has plunged Brexit back into crisis less than four months before Britain is finally due to leave the EU's orbit at the end of a transition period, and jeopardised trade talks.

EU diplomats and officials said the bloc could take legal action against Britain, though there would be no resolution before the end-of-year deadline for its full exit.

The EU has ramped up preparations for a no-deal Brexit, which would be chaotic for business, markets and nearly $1 trillion in annual trade.

Johnson, who has a majority of 80 in the lower house of parliament, faces a growing revolt. All of Britain's living former prime ministers have expressed concern about his plan as have many senior figures in his Conservative Party.

'Shocking': Blair, Major chide UK plan to breach international law

"No British minister should solemnly undertake to observe treaty obligations with his fingers crossed behind his back," Johnson's former Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, who is influential with colleagues, said in The Times newspaper.

Conservative lawmaker Rehman Chishti, who was Johnson's special envoy for freedom of religion, quit his role, saying he could not support the bill. "As an MP (lawmaker) for 10yrs & former Barrister, values of respecting rule of law & honouring one's word are dear to me," he tweeted.

WHO BLINKS FIRST?

British ministers say the bill, which explicitly states that it could be inconsistent with a host of international laws, is intended to clarify ambiguities - particularly over Northern Ireland - and act as a safeguard in case trade talks fall.

But some EU diplomats believe London is playing a game of chicken, inviting the collapse of trade talks to either get the deal it wants or leave without a deal.

The EU says it cannot trust those who break agreements and that if the bill is not effectively scrapped there will be no trade deal to cover everything from car parts to food.

The pound fell 3 percent last week on fears of a no-deal Brexit.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the bill was most likely a tactic and a "thin" free-trade deal was still possible as there were just a few outstanding issues.

If, as expected, it is passed in its second reading on Monday, there will be four more days of debate on the bill's fine print - lasting into Tuesday of next week.

If the bill passes the lower house, it will undergo scrutiny in the House of Lords where opposition from Conservative members is expected to be even stronger.

 

Boris Johnson

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Aerial view of Grosvenor Square Gardens, London — home to several properties owned by influential families and businesses with ties to the Awami League. Photo: Google Earth
    Lengthy legal road ahead to repatriate Saifuzzaman's wealth from UK
  • From fact-checker to fact-checked: CA Press Wing’s turn in the hot seat
    From fact-checker to fact-checked: CA Press Wing’s turn in the hot seat
  • Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner showing part of its registration "VT-ANB" in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
    Air India plane crash: Not all dead, one survivor identified, 204 bodies recovered

MOST VIEWED

  • Keir Starmer declines to meet CA Yunus: FT report
    Keir Starmer declines to meet CA Yunus: FT report
  • Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner showing part of its registration "VT-ANB" in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
    Air India plane crash: Not all dead, one survivor identified, 204 bodies recovered
  • Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. Photo: Collected
    UK crime agency now freezes assets of ex-land minister Saifuzzaman: AJ
  • File Photo of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus: UNB
    Prof Yunus to receive Harmony Award from King Charles today
  • Infofgraphics: TBS
    DGHS issues 11-point directive to prevent spread of Covid-19 in Bangladesh
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Bangladesh mulls settlements with tycoons over offshore wealth: BB governor tells FT

Related News

  • UK ex-PM Johnson says he planned raid on Dutch factory to get COVID vaccines
  • Boris Johnson issues surprise last-ditch UK election rallying cry
  • Former UK PM Johnson denies he wanted to let Covid 'rip'
  • Ex-PM Johnson apologises to families of UK Covid victims
  • UK lawmakers set to punish ex-PM Johnson for 'Partygate lies'

Features

Among pet birds in the country, lovebirds are the most common, and they are also the most numerous in the haat. Photo: Junayet Rashel

Where feathers meet fortune: How a small pigeon stall became Dhaka’s premiere bird market

1d | Panorama
Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS

Forget Katy Perry, here’s Bangladesh’s Ruthba Yasmin shooting for the moon

2d | Features
File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar

Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do

3d | Features
Photo collage shows political posters in Bagerhat. Photos: Jannatul Naym Pieal

From Sheikh Dynasty to sibling rivalry: Bagerhat signals a turning tide in local politics

5d | Bangladesh

More Videos from TBS

Banks' estimates were wrong: Bangladesh Bank spokesperson

Banks' estimates were wrong: Bangladesh Bank spokesperson

3h | Podcast
What exactly happened to the ill-fated Boeing aircraft?

What exactly happened to the ill-fated Boeing aircraft?

4h | TBS World
Govt to set up Debt Office as loan burden to hit Tk29 lakh cr by FY28

Govt to set up Debt Office as loan burden to hit Tk29 lakh cr by FY28

5h | TBS Insight
Curfew imposed for second night in Los Angeles

Curfew imposed for second night in Los Angeles

5h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net