Senior MPs demand May drops EU customs partnership option

Senior British lawmakers have delivered an ultimatum to Prime Minister Theresa May over one of the government’s post-Brexit customs options.

The MPs, who support Brexit, demanded May drops a proposal for a customs partnership with the European Union once it leaves the bloc, according to a report by BBC on Wednesday.

They said the partnership, which is one of two proposed options that May's government has put forward on customs, would make meaningful trade deals “impossible.”

The legislators also added that the plan would render the British International Trade Department obsolete, according to a 30-page document passed to the BBC.

There will be a key meeting of the Brexit sub-committee on Wednesday, but the issue is expected to split the meeting and have long-term implications for the government.

"I think we'll have a useful first discussion today, but then I'd expect we'd come to a conclusion over the next few weeks," Minister for the Cabinet Office David Lidington told Sky News.

Meanwhile, sources close to May described her as "relaxed" and confident about striking an agreement with senior ministers over a replacement for the current customs union, according to BBC.

Lidington said that May would be able to keep her post as prime minister even if she lost a vote on the customs arrangement.

PressTV-May faces heat over Brexit customs union

Theresa May is struggling to avert a cabinet rebellion amid fears from euroskeptic lawmakers of her party that she will keep the UK in the EU’s customs union after Brexit.  

May is struggling to avert a cabinet rebellion amid fears from euroskeptic lawmakers of her party that she will keep the UK in the EU customs union after Brexit.

Tories in May’s inner circle think the premier could be forced to accept staying in the customs union because Parliament will reject her plan to pull out from it, according to reports.

Members of the House of Lords have already inflicted an embarrassing defeat on the May government by voting against her flagship Brexit legislation, the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, also known as the Repeal Bill.

Now the House of Commons will vote on the measure. If MPs also vote in favor of remaining in the customs union with the bloc, it could trigger a challenge to May’s leadership from Brexit campaigners in the Conservative Party.

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