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		</div><p>Cabinet divisions over a no-deal exit from the EU have broken to the surface again as British Prime Minister Theresa May faces a major Commons clash on the issue while Simon Coveney said the EU was committed to a backstop.</p>
<p>UK Education Secretary Damian Hinds insisted he could not envisage a no-deal Brexit being Government policy.</p>
<p>The comments came after Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom branded attempts by MPs to kill no deal as an option, through a series of Commons amendments on Tuesday, as a “thinly veiled attempt to stop Brexit”.</p>
<p>Mr Hinds told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “I don’t envisage no deal becoming Government policy.</p>
<p>“We want to avoid a no deal. No deal would not be a good outcome.”</p>
<p>Mr Hinds insisted there were advantages to the controversial backstop proposals intended to avoid a hard border in Ireland by getting the UK to obey EU customs rules if no wider trade deal is agreed after a transition period.</p>
<p>The Education Secretary said: “There are multiple reasons to believe the backstop would never come into place.</p>
<p>“And, even if it did, actually there are some advantages to the backstop as well as drawbacks.”</p>
<p>Tánaiste Simon Coveney said the EU was committed to a backstop.</p>
<figure id="attachment_124882" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-124882" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/91E52CC6-5BF6-4C93-9AE8-CD60CD107660.jpeg"><img class="size-full wp-image-124882" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/91E52CC6-5BF6-4C93-9AE8-CD60CD107660.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="412" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-124882" class="wp-caption-text">Simon Coveney</figcaption></figure>
<p>He told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “The European Parliament will not ratify a Withdrawal Agreement that doesn’t have a backstop in it. It’s as simple as that.</p>
<p>“The backstop is already a compromise. It is a series of compromises. It was designed around British red lines.</p>
<p>“Ireland has the same position as the European Union now, I think, when we say that the backstop as part of the Withdrawal Agreement is part of a balanced package that isn’t going to change.”</p>
<p>UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock denied Mr Coveney’s comments meant Mrs May’s Brexit deal was “dead in the water”.</p>
<p>“Not at all,” said Mr Hancock. “That’s a negotiating position the Irish are taking, but I think it’s also extremely clear from that interview and the tone… Ireland doesn’t want to have a no-deal Brexit.</p>
<p>“The whole purpose of the backstop is to avoid a hard border, which risks being a consequence of a no-deal Brexit.</p>
<p>“The idea the EU and the Irish Government would drive this process to a no-deal exit in order to try to achieve something which is intended to avoid no-deal Brexit, that is not going to happen.”</p>
<p>However, Brexiteer Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns said she wanted the PM to abandon the backstop, telling Sky News: “I’d like to see her bin the backstop. I think we need to bin it completely.”</p>
<p>The comments came as it emerged preparations are being looked at for the possible imposition of martial law after a no-deal Brexit.</p>
<p>The move has been described by sources as the civil service “prepping” for all possibilities.</p>
<p>Mr Hancock denied the British Government was “specifically” planning for martial law but did not rule it out.</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t put a stress on that,” he said. “Of course Government all the time looks at all the options in all circumstances.”</p>
<p>He also distanced himself from leaked comments in November claiming he had said he could not guarantee patients would not die in a no-deal scenario.</p>
<p>“I didn’t quite say that,” he said. “Cabinet discussions are meant to be secret.”</p>
<p>Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said she was not in favour of a second referendum, but would vote Remain if one was held.</p>
<p>Ms Rayner told Sky News: “I would probably vote Remain and the reason is I’ve seen over the last 2.5 years all the analysis we have got at the moment.”</p>
<figure id="attachment_124883" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-124883" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23FA66AC-E9C0-4ABB-B2C6-F7E3D9D58E01.jpeg"><img class="size-full wp-image-124883" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23FA66AC-E9C0-4ABB-B2C6-F7E3D9D58E01.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="419" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-124883" class="wp-caption-text">Angela Rayner</figcaption></figure>
<p>When asked if Labour would back Yvette Cooper’s Brexit amendment which seeks to stop a no deal and extend Article 50, Ms Rayner said: “Labour will do whatever it takes to avoid a no-deal Brexit, so if that’s the only option we have it’s something we will seriously consider.</p>
<p>“Let me be as clear as I possibly can be for the people that are listening to this programme – we’ve put our amendment down, we’ve said we respected the result of the referendum, we want to find a deal, we want a customs union, we want protection for environment, consumer, employment. We’ve said that all along.</p>
<p>“Theresa May will not budge on her red lines, she’s forcing us and trying to bully us into a no-deal scenario.</p>
<p>“We will do whatever it takes, through Parliament, to stop that no-deal scenario from happening. If that means backing an amendment, then we will do that.”</p>
<p>Ahead of Tuesday’s Commons showdown, defence minister Tobias Ellwood broke ranks and insisted a no-deal scenario must be ruled out.</p>
<p>Despite Mrs May refusing to take the prospect of no deal off the table, Mr Ellwood wrote in the Sunday Times: “It is now time to rule out the very possibility of no deal.</p>
<p>“It is wrong for Government and business to invest any more time and money in a no-deal outcome which will make us poorer, weaker and smaller in the eyes of the world.”</p>
<p>In other measures, the Government is seeking to extend working hours for MPs to get Brexit legislation through the Commons before the scheduled EU withdrawal date of March 29.</p>
<p>Parliament’s February break looks set to be scrapped and sitting days extended by starting earlier and finishing later than usual.</p>
<p> ;</p>
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