Philip Hammond leads 30 Tory MPs in plot to stop no-deal Brexit

Philip Hammond leads 30 Tory MPs in plot to stop no-deal Brexit

UNITED KINGDOM

An informal group of rebel MPs led by the Chancellor is said to have held three meetings over the past month.

Thirty Tory MPs led by Chancellor Philip Hammond are plotting to stop a no-deal Brexit in October, Sky News understands.

An informal group of rebel MPs has held three meetings over the past month, since Theresa May announced her departure, about how to prevent the UK crashing out on 31 October.

Some of the meetings are understood to have been held in the Chancellor’s Commons office, with Mr Hammond increasingly vocal about the risks to the economy and UK union.

Cabinet ministers David Lidington and David Gauke, who are widely expected to lose their jobs in the next government over their opposition to a no-deal Brexit, are active in the group.

Two sources said the group’s key aim is to secure – within the next three weeks before parliament rises for the summer – a date in October on which MPs will control the agenda and can force through legislation.

MPs will control the agenda and can force through legislation.

David Lidington is active in the group of rebel MPs
Image:David Lidington is active in the group of rebel MPs

The last time this happened was in early April, when Yvette Cooper and Oliver Letwin led a successful attempt to force the prime minister to extend the Brexit deadline from mid-April to June.

One MP told Sky News Africa: “There will be another Cooper Letwin-style attempt to try and stop no-deal.

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