UK prime minister to publish paper setting out Brexit plan

Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday she would publish her plan for Britain’s exit from the European Union in a formal ‘White Paper’ to allow parliament to scrutinise it.

Last week, May said Britain would quit the EU’s single market when it leaves the union, charting a course for a clean break with the world’s largest trading bloc.

A court ruled on Tuesday that the government must seek parliamentary approval before triggering the legal process of exiting the bloc.

Following her speech and the court ruling, many lawmakers, including some from her own party, said they wanted to see the plans set out in a formal ‘White Paper’ to facilitate greater scrutiny before a parliamentary vote on triggering.

White papers are policy documents produced by the government that set out their proposals for future legislation.

The government had responded to those calls by saying it believed the publication of a white paper was not necessary.

But, on Wednesday, May changed her position.

“I set out that bold plan for a global Britain last week and

I recognise there is an appetite in this house to see that plan set out in a white paper,” May told parliament. “I can confirm to the house that our plan will be set out in a white paper.” The Institute for Government, a think tank, said there were no rules about what must be included in a white paper, and that any such document could simply repeat the contents of May’s speech.

British police said on Wednesday they had arrested a man on suspicion of sending racial abuse to the woman who won the court battle that means Prime Minister Theresa May must get parliament’s approval before starting the Brexit process.

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that lawmakers must pass an act giving May the authority to invoke Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty and begin two years of divorce talks, backing the case led by investment manager Gina Miller.

Miller, 51, who was born in Guyana, received a catalogue of death threats, racist and sexist abuse on social media since her legal challenge became increasingly high-profile last year and it received negative coverage from pro-Brexit supporting newspapers.

Miller said last November she had spent £60,000 (Dh277,448 or $75,500) on her own protection including dealing with attacks on the website of her business.

Britons backed leaving the European Union in a referendum last June after a bitter and divisive campaign, with personal attacks from both camps continuing long after the vote.

On Wednesday, police said they had arrested a 50-year-old man in Knightsbridge, an upmarket area of London, on suspicion of racially aggravated malicious communications.

“The arrest is in connection with a complaint made to police on November 6 by a 51-year-old woman relating to threats made online and a second unrelated comment believed to have been made by the same suspect in August 2016,” police said in a statement.

Miller confirmed the arrest related to the abuse she had suffered.

The man is the second person to have been arrested over the intimidation directed at Miller, while officers have issued eight notices warning people from across Britain to desist from their behaviour or face criminal action

source : gulfnews