Crime minister will vote for Brexit legislation even if it breaks law

Speaking ahead of the Commons debating the Internal Market Bill, Tory minister Kit Malthouse said he will vote for the proposals even if they breach international law.

Malthouse told BBC Breakfast: ‘I’ll be voting for the bill because I don’t believe that if that circumstance should arise, where food is prevented from moving from GB to Northern Ireland, that the prime minister has any choice but to take powers to allow Tesco to stock the shelves in Belfast.’

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Asked if he would do so even if it broke international law, he replied: ‘I will be voting for the bill this afternoon, yes.’

He continued: ‘International treaties are as much about the spirit and the intent as they are about the letter of the law.

‘No-one contemplated that this situation would occur and I’ve yet to hear a compelling solution … to that practical issue that we’re faced with that hopefully will never occur, but may occur in the future, and why we shouldn’t have an insurance policy for that.’

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford slammed the minister for his response.

He tweeted: ‘Gobsmacking and delusional. It is a matter of law, no ifs or buts. What a shower of charlatans this Government is. They have utterly trashed their reputation internationally. They cannot be trusted and as such are not fit to lead.’