Brexit 'rethink' a good idea, says author of Article 50 Lord Kerr
The author of the mechanism for leaving the EU tells Sky News it is "perfectly possible" to take it back once invoked.
Friday 27 January 2017 14:01, UK
Britain should be able to reconsider leaving the European Union at the end of its Brexit negotiations with Brussels, according to the author of Article 50.
Lord Kerr, who drafted the clause in the Lisbon Treaty that allows a member state to leave the EU, said while there is an undoubted majority in favour of cutting ties with Europe, "two years is a very long time in politics".
He told Sky's All Out Politics he was not in favour of a second referendum, but thought it was a "good idea to create the possibility of having a rethink".
Lord Kerr said: "You can withdraw the notification (Article 50) that she (Theresa May) is going to submit in March.
"Legally it would be perfectly possible to take it back.
"Politically of course, our partners might not be too thrilled if they'd wasted 18 months, 20 months negotiating with us, but I suspect it would be possible to get political agreement where you carry on as before.
"That looks at present an extremely unlikely contingency, but it is there as a possibility."
MPs are due to vote on whether the Prime Minister early next month.
It comes after the Government suffered a defeat in the Supreme Court earlier this week on whether it had to put the matter to Parliament.
Mrs May outlined the Government's Brexit plan earlier this month, saying she was prepared to walk away if she judged the final deal on offer from Brussels to be a bad one.
But Lord Kerr warned this would be the "worst possible outcome for Britain", creating "legal chaos" and uncertainty for businesses.
In a wide-ranging interview with Sky's Editor At Large Adam Boulton he:
:: Said the final bill from Europe for leaving could be higher than the in previous media reports
:: Warned the "sunlit uplands" promises by Brexit campaigners are a "very long way away"
:: Cast doubt on the prospect of the UK securing a swift free trade deal with the US post-Brexit, saying such hopes were "naive"
:: Warned Mrs May not to cultivate the "special relationship" with the US "at any price"