Officials are believed to have discovered a loophole in the law recently passed by rebel MPs to block a No Deal Brexit, with just three key advisers aware of this sensitive information, reports the Daily Mail.
The identities of the advisers are under wraps, but it is thought they might include PM Boris Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic Cummings, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.
There has not been any official comment from the government regarding the report.
Anti-Brexit barrister Jolyon Maugham, who has been involved in a number of legal actions pertaining to the UK’s divorce proceeding with the EU, appeared to give credence to the idea that there might be a way around the No Deal law.
He reportedly wrote that if MPs voted for a deal the first time around, the anti-No Deal legislation would no longer force Johnson to beg Brussels for an extension.
MPs could then swivel around and oppose the deal before it was made law, leaving the Government free to pursue No Deal.
This also comes ahead of a legal case over whether Boris Johnson was acting within the law by suspending Parliament for five weeks, slated to be heard at the Supreme Court Tuesday.
Parliament has been prorogued until 14 October.
Boris Johnson “passionately” believes new deal possible
PM Boris Johnson is set for his first meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxemburg in a bid to seal a new deal that he “passionately” believes is possible.
“I believe passionately that we can do it, and I believe that such an agreement is in the interests not just of the UK but also of our European friends,” the PM wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
Johnson will reportedly tell the European Commission chief that he is determined to take his country out next month with or without a deal, writes the Daily Mail, intending to achieve this at the European Council summit on 17 October.
If he fails, the No Deal law which passed last week will force him to seek another extension, yet Johnson is expectedto reject any such offer from Brussels.
The EU chief this weekend downplayed hopes of a breakthrough, saying Britain had yet to present an alternative to the Irish backstop.
The No Deal Bill
A fortnight ago, opposition parties teamed up with rebel Tories to push through legislation that left the embattled Prime Minister with fast-shrinking options regarding Brexit.
Boris Johnson lambasted the new law a "surrender bill".
In line with the legislation, which Queen Elizabeth II has given her royal assent to, if a Brexit deal has not been passed by the Commons by 19 October, Boris Johnson must seek an extension of the exit deadline from Brussels, which he has repeatedly ruled out doing.
