Conduct of negotiations

Part of European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill – in the House of Commons at 5:00 pm on 8 February 2017.

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Photo of Liam Byrne Liam Byrne Labour, Birmingham, Hodge Hill 5:00, 8 February 2017

I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman for that point, but I would like the question put beyond doubt by asking the Minister to accept new clause 193, which would give us a degree of assurance. Mr Clarke is perfectly prepared to vote against his own Whip in order to seek cast-iron reassurances, and I seek the same level of reassurance this afternoon.

It was back in September 1946 that Winston Churchill went to Zurich and proposed the Council of Europe as a first step towards recreating the European family whose breakdown led to the tragedy of the second world war. In the face of rising risks and threats, those old words are still wise words to guide us.