Brexit secretary David Davis has told MPs that they may not be able to vote on a final Brexit deal until the UK has left the bloc in March 2019.
David told Parliament that negotiations could be continuing until the very final minute.
When asked by Labour MP Seema Malhotra if MPs might have to wait until after the deadline to vote, he said: “Yes, it could be. It can’t come before we have the deal. We have said it is our intent and expectation that we will bring it to the British parliament before the European parliament.”
“It’s no secret that the way the union makes its decisions tends to me at the 59th minute of the 11th hour of the last day. That’s precisely what I would expect to happen here. I am quite sure in my mind that we can do that,” he continued.
“If there is a time-limit on a negotiation the union stops the clock, it assumes it is still at 11.59 and it carries on until the deal is concluded, sometimes for 24, 36, 48 hours. That what I imagine will happen here. It will be a lot of pressure, very high stress, very exciting for everybody watching. But that will be what happens.”
Davis dismissed claims that Brexit talks would drag on for years and insisted that an agreement would be made before the deadline. Michael Barnier said that talks could continue into the transition period.
“His original plan for the timetable was effectively do the withdrawal agreement up to the end of March 2019 and then start the trade agreement in an infinite transition arrangement, which would have put us in a very difficult negotiating position because we would want to solve quickly and they would want to solve slowly,” said Davis.