The United Kingdom's attorney general has said the government's last-ditch legal changes to the Brexit agreement reduced but did not rule out the risk that the country could be indefinitely bound to the Irish backstop clause, jeopardizing the prime minister's ambitions to assuage rebellious party members as she puts the agreement to a parliamentary vote on Tuesday.&nbsp;

Geoffrey Cox, whose job it is to present the House of Commons with independent legal advice on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union before the so-called meaningful vote on Theresa May's deal, said in a statement, his opinion had not changed since he first brought it to the lower chamber of lawmaking last year.&nbsp;

"In my letter of 13 November 2018, I advised that the protocol [ie, the backstop] would endure indefinitely in international law and could not be brought to an end in the absence of a subsequent agreement," he said.

"This would remain the case even if parties were still negotiating many years later, and even if the parties believed that talks have clearly broken down and there was no prospect of a future relationship agreement."&nbsp;

The backstop, which looks to safeguard the soft border on the island of Ireland should Brexit talks collapse, proved hugely unpopular with pro-Brexit MPs in May's Conservative Party, who thought its potentially indefinite nature and the UK's inability to withdraw from it unilaterally, as per Cox's previous legal statement, eroded the UK's sovereignty and did not deliver a true withdrawal from the EU.&nbsp;

The Democratic Unionist Party, a right-wing outfit from Northern Ireland, also protested the backstop, saying it could keep the UK territory in Ireland bound to EU customs regulations to preserve the free-flowing border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state.&nbsp;

In a previous meaningful vote on Jan. 15, hardline Tories including Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the hardline pro-Brexit European Research Group, spearheaded a rebellion against May's deal and helped shoot it down by a House majority of 230; this historic defeat for a sitting UK PM was bellowed by a large number of MPs voting against Brexit altogether.&nbsp;

Soon after the defeat, the Commons passed an amendment requiring May to return to Brussels in search of legally-binding changes to the withdrawal agreement.&nbsp;

Speaking in Strasbourg following a meeting with EU leaders, May assured reporters she had secured the necessary legally-binding tweaks to ensure the UK would not be indefinitely tied to the backstop protocol, adding the government would also set out a mechanism which would "ultimately" allow the UK to unliterary "dis-apply" the measure should it see fit.&nbsp;

May was unable to reopen the withdrawal agreement itself, but revealed the changes as part of a "joint instrument with comparable legal weight."&nbsp;

In his statement, Cox said the legal add-ons could reduce the possibility the UK was indefinitely bound to the backstop.

The European Research Group, an affiliation of Tories who campaign for a harder Brexit, demanded the PM secure an ability to unilaterally abandon the backstop as part of her haul of legal alterations to the text.&nbsp;

But Cox contradicted that, too.&nbsp;

He said that, while in his political judgment that the EU and the UK would draw up a comprehensive plan to replace the backstop, the UK would nonetheless be unable to abandon the accord unilaterally.&nbsp;

"However, the legal risk remains unchanged that if through no such demonstrable failure of either party, but simply because of intractable differences, that situation does arise, the United Kingdom would have, at least while the fundamental circumstances remained the same, no internationally lawful means of exiting the Protocol’s arrangements, save by agreement," he said.&nbsp;

Cox delivered his legal advice to a full house at the Commons.&nbsp;

He earlier dismissed rumours that he had refused to change his legal advice following May's meetings with EU heads.&nbsp;

Responding to a suggestion to that end from prominent UK journalist Jon Snow, Cox replied on Twitter with a simple and quintessentially British message: "Bollocks."

His legal advice will likely dictate how the ERG decides to vote following Tuesday's debate.&nbsp;

If May loses once again, the Commons is scheduled to vote on two further motions: one on whether to embrace a no-deal Brexit and another on whether to extend the negotiations period, which had been set at two years, ending on Mar. 31.&nbsp;

Some 52 per cent of voters chose to leave the bloc in a referendum in June 2016.

The United Kingdom's attorney general has said the government's last-ditch legal changes to the Brexit agreement reduced but did not rule out the risk that the country could be indefinitely bound to the Irish backstop clause, jeopardizing the prime minister's ambitions to assuage rebellious party members as she puts the agreement to a parliamentary vote on Tuesday.

The United Kingdom's attorney general has said the government's last-ditch legal changes to the Brexit agreement reduced but did not rule out the risk that the country could be indefinitely bound to the Irish backstop clause, jeopardizing the prime minister's ambitions to assuage rebellious party members as she puts the agreement to a parliamentary vote on Tuesday. Geoffrey Cox, whose job it is to present the House of Commons with independent legal advice on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union before the so-called meaningful vote on Theresa May's deal, said in a statement, his opinion had not changed since he first brought it to the lower chamber of lawmaking last year. "In my letter of 13 November 2018, I advised that the protocol [ie, the backstop] would endure indefinitely in international law and could not be brought to an end in the absence of a subsequent agreement," he said. "This would remain the case even if parties were still negotiating many years later, and even if the parties believed that talks have clearly broken down and there was no prospect of a future relationship agreement." The backstop, which looks to safeguard the soft border on the island of Ireland should Brexit talks collapse, proved hugely unpopular with pro-Brexit MPs in May's Conservative Party, who thought its potentially indefinite nature and the UK's inability to withdraw from it unilaterally, as per Cox's previous legal statement, eroded the UK's sovereignty and did not deliver a true withdrawal from the EU. The Democratic Unionist Party, a right-wing outfit from Northern Ireland, also protested the backstop, saying it could keep the UK territory in Ireland bound to EU customs regulations to preserve the free-flowing border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state. In a previous meaningful vote on Jan. 15, hardline Tories including Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the hardline pro-Brexit European Research Group, spearheaded a rebellion against May's deal and helped shoot it down by a House majority of 230; this historic defeat for a sitting UK PM was bellowed by a large number of MPs voting against Brexit altogether. Soon after the defeat, the Commons passed an amendment requiring May to return to Brussels in search of legally-binding changes to the withdrawal agreement. Speaking in Strasbourg following a meeting with EU leaders, May assured reporters she had secured the necessary legally-binding tweaks to ensure the UK would not be indefinitely tied to the backstop protocol, adding the government would also set out a mechanism which would "ultimately" allow the UK to unliterary "dis-apply" the measure should it see fit. May was unable to reopen the withdrawal agreement itself, but revealed the changes as part of a "joint instrument with comparable legal weight." In his statement, Cox said the legal add-ons could reduce the possibility the UK was indefinitely bound to the backstop. The European Research Group, an affiliation of Tories who campaign for a harder Brexit, demanded the PM secure an ability to unilaterally abandon the backstop as part of her haul of legal alterations to the text. But Cox contradicted that, too. He said that, while in his political judgment that the EU and the UK would draw up a comprehensive plan to replace the backstop, the UK would nonetheless be unable to abandon the accord unilaterally. "However, the legal risk remains unchanged that if through no such demonstrable failure of either party, but simply because of intractable differences, that situation does arise, the United Kingdom would have, at least while the fundamental circumstances remained the same, no internationally lawful means of exiting the Protocol’s arrangements, save by agreement," he said. Cox delivered his legal advice to a full house at the Commons. He earlier dismissed rumours that he had refused to change his legal advice following May's meetings with EU heads. Responding to a suggestion to that end from prominent UK journalist Jon Snow, Cox replied on Twitter with a simple and quintessentially British message: "Bollocks." His legal advice will likely dictate how the ERG decides to vote following Tuesday's debate. If May loses once again, the Commons is scheduled to vote on two further motions: one on whether to embrace a no-deal Brexit and another on whether to extend the negotiations period, which had been set at two years, ending on Mar. 31. Some 52 per cent of voters chose to leave the bloc in a referendum in June 2016.

May's legal changes do not rule out indefinite backstop: UK Attorney General

Talks between British Prime Minister Theresa May's top government lawyer and European Union negotiators to win concessions from the bloc on Brexit ended with no agreement in Brussels on Tuesday.

May has sent Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to seek changes to her deal in a last-ditch bid to get it through parliament and smooth Britain's departure from the European Union.

The talks between Cox, Britain's Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier ended with no agreement after more than three hours on Tuesday. Sources from both sides said negotiations among lower-ranking officials would continue on Wednesday.

An EU official said Tuesday's talks did not go well.

Britain is due to leave the EU in 24 days, but parliament's rejection of May's deal in January has put in doubt how, when or possibly even if Britain's biggest foreign and trade policy shift in more than 40 years will take place.

May has charged Cox and Barclay with securing changes to the so-called Irish backstop, an insurance policy to prevent a "hard border" between the UK province of Northern Ireland and EU-member Ireland if a future trading relationship falls short.

Time is of the essence, with some businesses increasingly concerned over the risk of a disorderly Brexit, which BMW said on Tuesday could mean it would move some production of engines and it's Mini model out of Britain.

Earlier, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said the government still wanted "to leave at the end of this month and it depends how quickly we can get a deal through".

"Our ask of the EU is an important ask ... but it is one ask and it's a simple one. We need substantive changes that will allow the attorney general to change his advice to the government that says that, at the moment, theoretically, we could be trapped in the backstop indefinitely."

Flexing muscles

May has struggled to convince the EU that she can get the deal through a deeply divided parliament in London, where lawmakers are increasingly flexing their muscles to try to influence Britain's departure from the bloc.

She has offered lawmakers the chance to seek to prevent a no-deal departure and to delay Brexit if parliament rejects the deal in a vote she has promised to hold by March 12. Both British and EU officials have said any delay would probably be just for a few months.

Ministers are hoping Cox can convince eurosceptic lawmakers he has done enough to remove the threat of Britain ending up in the EU's customs union indefinitely, something Brexit supporters say would make a mockery of the 2016 vote to leave the bloc.

The British government had been looking at either an end date on the provision or some way of London being able to stop the arrangement unilaterally, but have in recent days been less specific about what the changes would amount to.

Both options have long been rejected by the EU.

Asked after a meeting of senior ministers whether May had set out specific details of what Cox was seeking, her spokesman said: "No ... you can expect them (Cox and Barclay) to be having detailed discussions around the legally binding changes we're seeking to the backstop, but it wasn't discussed at cabinet."

British and EU officials said the change could come in an addendum to the agreement - something the government hopes will be enough to change minds in parliament, where deep divisions over Brexit have become increasingly entrenched.

"How we get there is something we're prepared to be flexible about," Hunt said. "But the crucial thing that we are looking for is to see whether Geoffrey Cox is going to be able to change his advice to the government."

Talks between British Prime Minister Theresa May's top government lawyer and European Union negotiators to win concessions from the bloc on Brexit ended with no agreement in Brussels on Tuesday.

Talks between British Prime Minister Theresa May's top government lawyer and European Union negotiators to win concessions from the bloc on Brexit ended with no agreement in Brussels on Tuesday. May has sent Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to seek changes to her deal in a last-ditch bid to get it through parliament and smooth Britain's departure from the European Union. The talks between Cox, Britain's Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier ended with no agreement after more than three hours on Tuesday. Sources from both sides said negotiations among lower-ranking officials would continue on Wednesday. An EU official said Tuesday's talks did not go well. Britain is due to leave the EU in 24 days, but parliament's rejection of May's deal in January has put in doubt how, when or possibly even if Britain's biggest foreign and trade policy shift in more than 40 years will take place. May has charged Cox and Barclay with securing changes to the so-called Irish backstop, an insurance policy to prevent a "hard border" between the UK province of Northern Ireland and EU-member Ireland if a future trading relationship falls short. Time is of the essence, with some businesses increasingly concerned over the risk of a disorderly Brexit, which BMW said on Tuesday could mean it would move some production of engines and it's Mini model out of Britain. Earlier, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said the government still wanted "to leave at the end of this month and it depends how quickly we can get a deal through". "Our ask of the EU is an important ask ... but it is one ask and it's a simple one. We need substantive changes that will allow the attorney general to change his advice to the government that says that, at the moment, theoretically, we could be trapped in the backstop indefinitely." Flexing muscles May has struggled to convince the EU that she can get the deal through a deeply divided parliament in London, where lawmakers are increasingly flexing their muscles to try to influence Britain's departure from the bloc. She has offered lawmakers the chance to seek to prevent a no-deal departure and to delay Brexit if parliament rejects the deal in a vote she has promised to hold by March 12. Both British and EU officials have said any delay would probably be just for a few months. Ministers are hoping Cox can convince eurosceptic lawmakers he has done enough to remove the threat of Britain ending up in the EU's customs union indefinitely, something Brexit supporters say would make a mockery of the 2016 vote to leave the bloc. The British government had been looking at either an end date on the provision or some way of London being able to stop the arrangement unilaterally, but have in recent days been less specific about what the changes would amount to. Both options have long been rejected by the EU. Asked after a meeting of senior ministers whether May had set out specific details of what Cox was seeking, her spokesman said: "No ... you can expect them (Cox and Barclay) to be having detailed discussions around the legally binding changes we're seeking to the backstop, but it wasn't discussed at cabinet." British and EU officials said the change could come in an addendum to the agreement - something the government hopes will be enough to change minds in parliament, where deep divisions over Brexit have become increasingly entrenched. "How we get there is something we're prepared to be flexible about," Hunt said. "But the crucial thing that we are looking for is to see whether Geoffrey Cox is going to be able to change his advice to the government."

British PM May's top lawyer struggles for Brexit deal in Brussels

The British government suffered a major blow on Tuesday when it lost a parliamentary vote on legal advice it received on the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/britain-can-revoke-brexit-unilaterally-eu-court-adviser-181406">Brexit deal </a>agreed with EU leaders last month.

A motion by the main opposition Labour Party to find the government in contempt of parliament for failing to publish the advice was passed by 311 MPs in favour to 293 against.

The government reacted to the defeat by saying it would publish the "final and full" advice on Wednesday.

Opponents believe the advice will reveal Attorney General Geoffrey Cox's misgivings about the Brexit agreement.

The parliamentary vote has delayed a speech by Prime Minister Theresa May at the start of five days of debate on the deal itself before a final vote on December 11 which the government is expected to lose.

May was still due to address parliament later on Tuesday.

Labour's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said: "This House has now spoken and it's of huge constitutional and political significance. It is, I think unprecedented for this House to find government ministers in contempt".

The British government suffered a major blow on Tuesday when it lost a parliamentary vote on legal advice it received on the Brexit deal agreed with EU leaders last month.

The British government suffered a major blow on Tuesday when it lost a parliamentary vote on legal advice it received on the Brexit deal agreed with EU leaders last month. A motion by the main opposition Labour Party to find the government in contempt of parliament for failing to publish the advice was passed by 311 MPs in favour to 293 against. The government reacted to the defeat by saying it would publish the "final and full" advice on Wednesday. Opponents believe the advice will reveal Attorney General Geoffrey Cox's misgivings about the Brexit agreement. The parliamentary vote has delayed a speech by Prime Minister Theresa May at the start of five days of debate on the deal itself before a final vote on December 11 which the government is expected to lose. May was still due to address parliament later on Tuesday. Labour's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said: "This House has now spoken and it's of huge constitutional and political significance. It is, I think unprecedented for this House to find government ministers in contempt".

British government loses key parliament vote on Brexit

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May's legal changes do not rule out indefinite backstop: UK Attorney General

British PM May's top lawyer struggles for Brexit deal in Brussels

British government loses key parliament vote on Brexit