Monday, 3 December 2018

Theresa May faces grilling on This Morning sofa and bats off jibes that her Brexit deal will be a 'disaster'

Theresa May clashed with Phillip Schofield over her whether her Brexit deal is a 'disaster' today.

The Prime Minister admitted she was having a 'tough time' and finding it 'difficult' to get the package she has thrashed out with Brussels past the Commons.

But despite a wall of opposition from Tory rebels, Labour and the DUP, she insisted the government will 'hold our nerve' and press on with doing the best thing for the UK.  

In a bruising interview on ITV's This Morning, Mrs May was asked by presenters Phillip and Rochelle Humes whether she was 'knackered'.

'It''s a tough time. It is a difficult time,' she said.


Mrs May dodged around when grilled about whether she will quit if she loses next week - and raised eyebrows by failing explicitly to rule out a second referendum.


But she again appealed to MPs to recognise the benefits she had secured in negotiations.

'What I've got is a deal that delivers,' she said. 

In at times tetchy exchanges, Philip said: ‘It looks like the end is a disaster.’

But the premier replied: ‘No, the end is a deal - a good deal.’

She said the UK must ‘hold our nerve in getting this over the line so we can deliver on Brexit and people can that better future.’ 

Philip also demanded to know, 'What have you won that we didn’t have before?’

Mrs May insisted: ‘What I’ve got is… we end free movement – we control who comes in to our country.

‘We end sending vast sums of money to the EU.

‘We will end the jurisdiction of the European Courts – we will make our own laws.’

Later she added: ‘It is an important moment in our history. This is not, "oh well it’s any old vote". 

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'This is about delivering what people voted for when they voted to leave the EU and I think that’s important for politicians t remember.’  

Mrs May dodged questions about whether she will resign if she loses the crunch vote on December 11 - saying she was 'focused' on winning it.

At one point the frustrated premier urged Philip to let her 'finish a sentence' as he harried her with barbs including: 'Will you still have a job in two weeks' time?' 

She shot back: ‘I will still have a job in two weeks time. My job is making sure we do what the public asked us for.’ 

Asked how she personally was coping the her relentless workload and pressure, Mrs May said: ‘It is tough, in any job there are times its really tough and you have to work through it. In politics it’s the same.'

She said her husband was a 'huge support' and was telling her to keep doing what it 'right for the country'.

‘Philip is a huge support to me he says I must do what I believe is right,' she said. 

'I believe what is right for this country….is let’s get this deal done.’

How does the Commons contempt process work? 
Under Commons rules, the Speaker decides whether to allow a contempt motion to go before the House.

If he does and the vote is carried, it would then be referred to the Committee of Privileges which would rule on whether a contempt of Parliament had taken place.

If it is decided that a contempt had occurred, the committee can recommend a suitable punishment which is then put back to MPs to agree.

In theory, the most severe penalty is expulsion from the House, although the prospects of that happening would appear remote.

There were only three expulsions in the 20th Century, with the last one in 1954. Two of them involved serious criminal convictions, and the third was for lying to a committee and allegedly taking bribes.  

However any finding against the Government would be potentially highly damaging for Mrs May at a time when she is at her most vulnerable politically.  

Mrs May said she hoped MPs would 'put the national interest first' and said members of the public were backing her.

‘What people think about this is important. Yesterday in my constituency, in Twyford, I was switching on the Christmas lights,' she said.

‘A woman said to me "when you say you want to get this done you are speaking for me".

‘That’s important. For us as MPs it’s not just about what we think, it’s about what you’re doing for people.’ 

The premier also insisted she still wants a TV debate against Jeremy Corbyn - despite talks seemingly having hit an impasse.

Mrs May has signed up to a BBC programme on Sunday - but the Labour leader favours an ITV show the same evening.  

The PM said she hoped the face-off would still go ahead, and joked that she was worried the ITV option would stop her watching Strictly Come Dancing. 

After the interview, the PM’s spokesman was asked repeatedly why she did not rule out a second referendum.

The spokesman said: ‘I don’t believe she could have been any clearer on any number of occasions and she does not support a second referendum.’

He added: ‘I think she already has done. There is not going to be a second referendum.’

The appearance comes as Mrs May faces the threat of being held in contempt of Parliament.

She is resisting huge pressure to disclose the private opinion Attorney General Geoffrey Cox gave on the package she has thrashed out with Brussels.

The eminent QC and strident Brexiteer was a key figure in forcing the deal through the Cabinet - but there are claims his formal written advice was far bleaker and he warned the UK would be stuck 'indefinitely' in the Irish border backstop.

Despite a Commons motion being passed demanding the full document, ministers are insisting they will only release a summary as the full material would break convention and undermine the operation of government.

Boris Johnson today joined condemnation of the refusal, saying it was a 'scandal' and pointing out that Mrs May previously called for advice on the Iraq War to be released. 

If the government does not cave in by the time Mr Cox makes a statement to the Commons this evening, Speaker John Bercow could launch contempt proceedings - triggering a formal investigation in the PM or her most senior colleagues.

The potential punishments include suspension or expulsion from the House, although they have not been deployed for decades.  





MailOnline

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