Parliament can’t hijack Brexit: Fox

LONDON, January 20 

Parliament cannot be allowed to hijack Brexit, Trade Minister Liam Fox said on Sunday, in a warning to lawmakers who want to take more control over Britain’s departure from the European Union.

With just weeks to go before Britain is due to leave the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May will return to Parliament on Monday to set out how she plans to try to break the Brexit deadlock after her deal was rejected by lawmakers.

She will also speak to ministers on Sunday on a conference call, a government source said, as the prime minister tries to navigate a way through the competing visions for the future from a second referendum to staying in the EU.

Time is running out for Brexit, Britain’s biggest shift in foreign and trade policy in more than 40 years, but so far there is little that unites a divided parliament beyond its rejection of May’s deal that envisages close economic ties with the EU.

Labour Party is pressing for a new election and for May to rule out the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, while others in Parliament are lobbying for anything from a second referendum to leaving without an agreement.

Fox, a Brexit supporter, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that May’s divorce agreement with the European Union was still the best basis for a deal. — Reuters