UK's Legal Advice on Brexit 'Betrays' Referendum Outcome - UKIP Leader

LONDON (Sputnik) - The UK government's legal findings on the potential implementation of the backstop border arrangement has further exposed UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s alleged attempt to turn against the popular vote to leave the European Union, Gerard Batten, who leads the UK Independence Party (UKIP), told Sputnik on Thursday.
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"The legal judgment has shown just how much of a betrayal and a stitch up this is of the original intentions of the referendum … I think this is all going towards a situation where we don't leave. This has been deliberately engineered between Mrs. May, the government and the European Union over the last two years… to reach a withdrawal agreement that is so appalling that nobody wants it, but then tell you that there is no alternative to that agreement apart from staying in the European Union, and then use that as a device to make sure we don't leave," Batten said.

UK Parliament Debates Brexit Agreement for Third Day (VIDEO)
The UK Parliament will most likely turn down the divorce agreement, the member of the European Parliament noted.

"I think it's unlikely that this withdrawal agreement is going to get through the parliament. It's so bad. Nobody wants it, it's preposterous. So if this gets defeated next week which is very likely, what happens next? Mrs. May is going to possibly go to ask for an extension of Article 50 so they can go back to negotiations, but the European Union has already said they will not negotiate any more on this. The whole thing is a complete and utter shambles," Batten underlined.

On Wednesday, the UK government published a legal advice on the Brexit agreement saying that Northern Ireland would remain in the EU Customs Union under the backstop solution for the Irish border.

Fate of Brexit Deal Foggy As Tempers Flare, Tensions Rise in UK - Politicians
Last month, May defended a draft Brexit deal in the UK Parliament's House of Commons. The agreement faced criticism both from the opposition and from the ruling party, with several members of May's Cabinet having resigned over the disagreement with the deal.

While some lawmakers called for a new Brexit referendum, May rejected the idea and called on the parliament to approve the agreement in order to avoid "more division" and "more uncertainty."

The agreement was endorsed by the leaders of 27 EU member states and will be considered by the UK Parliament on December 11.

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