Rishi Sunak will be forced to lie to Commons today to get his Brexit sell-out vote passed

“Practically useless” - Legal report slams Sunak’s EU deal on every level

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2023

EU law will apply in the whole of the United Kingdom, not only N.I.

‘No MP reading this report could vote for this Sunak-EU deal … but they will’

This afternoon the Government and most of the Commons will finally lose all credibility
This isn’t a Sunak SI (Statutory Instrument), it’s a Sunak SO (Sell-Out)

Early yesterday morning the Chairman of Brexit Facts4EU was given an embargoed copy of the 137-page document produced by the ‘Star Chamber’ of legal experts from the ERG, reviewing Rishi Sunak’s meek and bungled attempt to resolve the UK’s relationship with the EU.

After studying the detail we can now confirm that all of our assertions over the past five weeks have been thoroughly vindicated in this legal report.

Yesterday’s report is so damning it leaves the Prime Minister with nowhere to go when he stands up in Parliament today. Equally it leaves Labour, the LibDems, the SNP, and the Green Party with serious questions to answer, after they all praised the Sunak deal without understanding what it contained.

The legal report’s main conclusions

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

The ERG Star Chamber’s principal findings are:

  • “That EU law will still be supreme in Northern Ireland;
  • “The rights of its people under the 1800 Act of Union are not restored;
  • “The ‘green lane’ is not really a ‘green lane’ at all;
  • “The Stormont Brake is practically useless; and
  • “The Windsor Framework itself has no exit, other than through a highly complex legal process.”

[Sources: ERG statement 21 Mar 2023 | Lawyers for Britain.]

And it gets even worse. This deal affects the whole of the UK not only N.I., as we will show below.

The full report can be downloaded here (PDF).

Rishi Sunak will be forced to lie to Parliament to get his vote passed

On a day when most of the media will be obsessed with Boris Johnson’s appearance before the Commons Committee over ‘Partygate’, our current Prime Minister will have to stand up in Parliament and defend the indefensible.

To get this deal through, Rishi Sunak will be forced to mislead Parliament. He already did this on Monday 27 February when he first presented the ‘Windsor Agreement’. Now he will have to do it again, but this time we have a detailed legal report which categorically refutes his claims.

The UK’s Rejoiners and ‘Globalists’ have received over £3m in foreign funding

We’re trying to raise just £100,000 p.a. – Can you help with a donation?
Please help today if you can: click here for options

On 27 February 2023 the PM was lauded by MPs who stood up to congratulate him, before having even read the agreement he did in secret with the EU. Today will be a little different, now that we have detailed proof that his assertions are simply untrue.

Some very senior players will vote AGAINST Rishi Sunak today

            

Brexit Facts4EU’s prediction is that the motion will pass, mainly based on the support of opposition parties. There is a three-line whip on Tory MPs but we predict that at least two former Prime Ministers and several former Secretaries of State and former Cabinet Ministers will vote against, together with up to 20 more Conservative MPs.

It will not be enough. With the support of Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, the motion will be carried.

And all these MPs will have to answer for this at the next election and in the ensuing years.

Exclusive - “The Windsor Brake is a fake”
Sammy Wilson MP gives Facts4EU his views ahead of the vote

“The Star Chamber report confirms our view of the Stormont Brake. It shows that the brake is a fake. First of all it does not apply to the 300 areas of EU law which already apply to NI, it only refers to some future law changes.

“Secondly even when a notification is made, the Secretary of State can refuse to take it and even if he does the government is not obliged to seek to try and stop it. If a veto were used by the UK at the joint committee the EU are entitled to retaliate. This is a huge deterrent not to rock the boat, especially since one of the objectives of the Windsor Framework is to normalise relationships with the EU.

“Thirdly even if the government had the courage to exercise a veto this veto would be subject to arbitration. No wonder the EU has said that it doesn’t expect the brake to be used very often.

“So pathetic is this stay in EU law that the government and its ministers have had to tell lies to cover up its lack of any substance.

“Leaving all these criticisms aside the real question is why if Brexit was about taking back control does our government even consider surrendering part of the UK to have EU law imposed on a part of the UK, especially since the justification given is the need to protect the EU’s Single Market?

“That should be the job of the EU. The responsibility of the UK government is to protect the integrity of the UK.”

- Sammy Wilson MP, speaking exclusively to Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 22 Mar 2023

"The Government should return to its Protocol Bill," the Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP tells us

"The best answer to the Northern Ireland Protocol problems is the Bill the government passed with a majority of 70 through the Commons. They should return to that, which resolves the blocs on our trade and removes the need for EU laws in any part of the UK.

"The lawyers have shown just how much power and influence the EU will have over us under the proposed Agreement. That Agreement leaves NI under plenty of EU laws. It gives the EU influence over the UK’s internal trade, tax policy and state aids."

- The Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP, speaking exclusively to Facts4EU.Org, 22 Mar 2023

UK-based companies within GB could get fined millions by the EU for years to come

In addition to the extraordinary and unequivocal main findings of the report, there are – as ever – hidden traps set by the EU. These have inexplicably been acquiesced to by Rishi Sunak in his lamentable deal.

Speaking to our Chairman yesterday morning, one of the report’s authors drew attention to a part of their analysis that has not made the headlines but which could have major implications for the competitiveness of the entire United Kingdom, not just Northern Ireland.

In short, an omission (certainly deliberate by the EU) means GB-based businesses could be find find themselves having to pay millions of pounds to the EU, retrospectively for up to 10 years of trading, under EU law and with no redress. It relates to state aid given by the Government under a great number of schemes to encourage investment in the UK.

The best way to explain this is by example

Example 1

You are a car manufacturer in the North-East. Let’s call you Rishisan Motors. In return for investing heavily in a more deprived area of the UK, and as part of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ policy, you receive state aid. Your new model, the ‘Rishicra’, becomes the fastest-selling car in the UK – including in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile in the EU, the powerful automotive lobbies for the struggling German, French, Italian and Spanish car industries successfully persuade the EU Commission to launch actions against Rishisan for what they say is an unlevel playing field. You fight the case, but it’s the EU’s Court of Justice which decides. You get hit with a claim for tens of millions of pounds, dating back over the last 10 years of your sales revenues.

Example 2

You are a Californian corporation building a new giga factory in Liverpool to satisfy the demand for highly-efficient batteries based on the most modern technology. Let’s call you Starmertron Electric. The new Labour government is keen to support this inward investment and grants are made readily available. Press statements are made by No.10 about the number of new jobs this will create across Merseyside.

As your sales boom across the UK, the EU, and further afield, moves are afoot in Brussels. The next thing you know, a demand is made by the EU Commission for damages to the very slow-charging EU battery industry. You suggest they direct their claims to the UK Government which gave you the grants but you are told that it is you, the corporation, which is liable for the claim for 'recovery' of unfair subsidies.

Observations

No MP reading the comprehensive legal report published yesterday could vote for this Sunak-Sell-Out … but they will.

It gives us absolutely no pleasure to predict that the Prime Minister of our great country will stand up in the Commons this afternoon and deliberately mislead the House on such a major constitutional matter.

This is not about whether Mr Sunak saw a piece of cake (but didn’t eat it) at a No.10 gathering during lockdown. Yet Borisgate will make the headlines. The Sunak sell-out of Brexit will be relegated, unless we can persuade some MPs to come out very forcefully, with eye-catching quotes. We will then do our level best with the 100+ mainstream journalists we know to get this covered prominently.

If the principles of independence, democracy and sovereignty matter to you, and if the Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland matters to you, and if peace in Northern Ireland matters to you, please donate something today so that we can keep fighting.

We must get reports like this out there

Reports like the one above take far longer to research, write and produce than many people realise. If they were easy, readers would see other organisations also producing these daily.

However, there’s little point in the Facts4EU.Org team working long hours, seven days-a-week, if we lack the resources to promote them effectively – to the public, to MPs, and to the media. This is where you come in, dear reader.

Facts4EU.Org needs you today

We are a 'not for profit' team (we make a loss) and any payment goes towards the actual work, not plush London offices, lunch or taxi expenses, or other luxuries of some organisations.

We badly need more of our thousands of readers to become members, to support this work. Could this be you, today? It's quick and easy, we give you a choice of two highly secure payment providers, and we do NOT ask you for further support if you pay once. We just hope you keep supporting us. Your membership stays anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.

Please don't assume that other people will keep us going - we don't receive enough to survive and we need your help today. Could you help us? We rely 100% on public contributions from readers like you.

If you believe in a fully-free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom, please join now by clicking on one of the links below or you can use our Support page here. You will receive a personal, friendly ‘thank you’ from a member of our team within 24 hours. Thank you.

[ Sources: ERG | Lawyers for Britain | ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 22 Mar 2023

Click here to go to our news headlines

Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget to actually post your message after you have previewed it!

Share this article on

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

Donate

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

Subscribe

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly