UPDATED: U.K. PM Theresa May's hopes for Brexit deal punctured by attorney general
Geoffrey Cox said changes announced late Monday "reduce the risk" Britain could be stuck inside EU regulations indefinitely -- but do not eliminate it. The two-page opinion said the U.K. could still not extract itself from the terms of the divorce deal unilaterally, a key demand of pro-Brexit British politicians.
Lawmakers defeated May's deal by a whopping 230 votes in January, but May hoped the changes she secured from the bloc would be enough to persuade many to change their minds. Even before Cox gave his opinion, leading pro-Brexit Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed skepticism.Other EU nations welcomed the overnight agreement, and urged British politicians to seize the chance to back the deal and ensure an orderly departure.
"Having studied the documents, I would be surprised if they are sufficient to enable the Attorney General to change the central plank of his December legal advice," Starmer said on Twitter. May said documents to be added to the deal provided "legally binding" assurances that the backstop would be temporary and that Britain would have a way to get out of it if the EU failed to negotiate in good faith. The two sides also agreed to continue working on technology that would do away with the need for border checks. However, the text of the 585-page withdrawal agreement remains unchanged.
"In politics, sometimes you get a second chance. It is what you do with this second chance that counts. Because there will be no third chance," Juncker said
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