Emily Thornberry MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, responding to the statement of the Prime Minister’s Official spokesperson on today’s meeting of the Cabinet at Chequers, said:

“The country was dragged into this mess by a Tory party acting as a law unto themselves, and now they want to trust us to get them out of it, acting in exactly the same way. It is sheer high-handed arrogance for them to say they will take all the decisions themselves, with no consultation of Parliament or the public, with the devolved administrations consulted but not listened to, and with the governments of London and Gibraltar now not even mentioned.

“The Labour Party is clear: instead of “pushing ahead” with Article 50, those negotiations should not be triggered until the Government has put forward a clear plan about what it is seeking to achieve, how it will go about it, and until the public, Parliament, the devolved administrations, London and Gibraltar have given their approval to that plan.

“And we will demand that Labour and other opposition parties are consulted on the formulation of that plan, so that this time round, we have the opportunity denied us by David Cameron to contribute to the Government’s negotiating strategy, and get the best deal for the communities we represent. The Tories who created this mess are the last people to get us out of it, so we will continue to stand up for our communities, make our demands on their behalf, and demand that we are heard.”

Ends