Huntingdon MP vows to support the prime minister’s deal on the withdrawal from the EU

Huntingdon MP Jonathan Djanogly has said that he will be backing Theresa May’s Brexit deal when MP’s vote later today.

Mr Djanogly, who sits on the Brexit select committee, says that although the deal is not perfect, he believes t it is a fair deal for the country.

He said: “This evening, I shall be voting in support of the prime minister’s deal on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

“Not least as a member of the Brexit select committee, I have been monitoring the deal process very carefully and what follows is a distillation of many hundreds of hours that I have spent investigating and considering the way in which we should approach Brexit.

“The proposed treaty is not a perfect deal from my point of view but, realistically, no one was going to get everything they wanted in the negotiations. Taking on board many considerations, I do feel that it represents a fair basis on which to proceed.

“It fulfils our manifesto commitment to leave the EU on the basis of the UK regaining control of its finances, borders and trade policy. At the same time, it ensures that we retain a close and minimum friction trading relationship with our largest trading partner.”

MPs are expected to vote later this evening on the deal that Theresa May has offered, following a five day debate that has been ongoing in the Houses of Commons.

Mrs May has called for politicians to back her deal or risk “letting the British people down”.

The deal currently includes a backstop agreement on the Irish border, which is a key concern to a number of MPs, with fears of a hard border coming into play at the end of the transition period after the UK’s departure from the European.

Mrs May has urged critics to give the deal “a second look”, insisting new assurances on the Irish border had “legal force”.

If the deal is rejected by later on this evening, Mrs May will have a three sitting days to return to parliament with a second plan.

Mr Djanogly has said that if the deal is rejected he hopes that a ‘plan B’ will be proposed quickly.

He said: “I shall proceed on the basis of three principles; that we do not delay the process of moving to plan B, that under no circumstances shall I support a no deal or WTO option, and the option I do support must protect British jobs and business investment to safeguard our prosperity.”