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| Attorney general rejects Gove claim that EU deal is not legally binding | Attorney general rejects Gove claim that EU deal is not legally binding |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The government’s most senior lawyer has slapped down Michael Gove’s claim that the UK’s new deal with the EU could be ignored by the European court of justice, saying there was a consensus of opinion that it was legally binding. | The government’s most senior lawyer has slapped down Michael Gove’s claim that the UK’s new deal with the EU could be ignored by the European court of justice, saying there was a consensus of opinion that it was legally binding. |
| Jeremy Wright, who sided with the government’s campaign to keep the UK in the EU, said this was not just his personal opinion but that of the government’s lawyers, the EU’s lawyers and a majority of lawyers in the country. | Jeremy Wright, who sided with the government’s campaign to keep the UK in the EU, said this was not just his personal opinion but that of the government’s lawyers, the EU’s lawyers and a majority of lawyers in the country. |
| The attorney general, who at one point was said to be considering joining the leave camp, said: “The suggestion that this agreement does not have legal effect until it is incorporated into EU treaties is not correct. | The attorney general, who at one point was said to be considering joining the leave camp, said: “The suggestion that this agreement does not have legal effect until it is incorporated into EU treaties is not correct. |
| “It has legal effect from the point the UK says it intends to remain in the EU, and the European court must take it into account. The job of the European court is to interpret the agreements between the 28 nation states of the EU. This is one of those agreements, with equivalent legal force to other agreements such as treaties. | “It has legal effect from the point the UK says it intends to remain in the EU, and the European court must take it into account. The job of the European court is to interpret the agreements between the 28 nation states of the EU. This is one of those agreements, with equivalent legal force to other agreements such as treaties. |
| “That is not just my opinion – it is the opinion of this government’s lawyers, lawyers for the EU, and, I suspect, the majority of lawyers in this country.” | “That is not just my opinion – it is the opinion of this government’s lawyers, lawyers for the EU, and, I suspect, the majority of lawyers in this country.” |
| The government took the drastic step of making clear its legal advice after Gove, the justice secretary, gave an interview to the BBC suggesting David Cameron’s deal with other EU states could be challenged in the European court of justice. | The government took the drastic step of making clear its legal advice after Gove, the justice secretary, gave an interview to the BBC suggesting David Cameron’s deal with other EU states could be challenged in the European court of justice. |
| It is the second big public row between senior Tory figures on opposite sides of the EU debate, after Cameron mocked and dismissed Boris Johnson’s suggestion that a vote to leave could lead to a better renegotiation. | It is the second big public row between senior Tory figures on opposite sides of the EU debate, after Cameron mocked and dismissed Boris Johnson’s suggestion that a vote to leave could lead to a better renegotiation. |
| Gove, who is one of six cabinet ministers campaigning to leave the EU, ignited the row by saying Cameron’s changes did not have any legal status yet because they are not yet written into European treaties. | Gove, who is one of six cabinet ministers campaigning to leave the EU, ignited the row by saying Cameron’s changes did not have any legal status yet because they are not yet written into European treaties. |
| He said people should be aware that the ECJ stood above all nation states and could only interpret the law according to what is currently in the treaties. Gove rejected suggestions that the prime minister was being misleading when he said the deal was legally binding. | He said people should be aware that the ECJ stood above all nation states and could only interpret the law according to what is currently in the treaties. Gove rejected suggestions that the prime minister was being misleading when he said the deal was legally binding. |
| However, he clearly undermined Cameron’s argument, saying: “There are two things which are true. The first thing is the prime minister is right: this is an agreement between 28 nations and all have agreed that they will abide by it. But above those nations sits the European court of justice.” | However, he clearly undermined Cameron’s argument, saying: “There are two things which are true. The first thing is the prime minister is right: this is an agreement between 28 nations and all have agreed that they will abide by it. But above those nations sits the European court of justice.” |
| Downing Street has rebuffed Gove’s view, s | Downing Street has rebuffed Gove’s view, s |
| citing the former director of legal services at the EU, Alan Dashwood, who said the deal was a binding legal agreement that could only be set aside with the agreement of all member states, including the UK. “So, in that sense, it is irreversible,” he said. | citing the former director of legal services at the EU, Alan Dashwood, who said the deal was a binding legal agreement that could only be set aside with the agreement of all member states, including the UK. “So, in that sense, it is irreversible,” he said. |
| Cameron’s position was reinforced by Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, who said Gove was wrong, and the fact it had not yet been incorporated into the treaties was irrelevant. “The idea the court can ignore the changes which have the force of international law is fanciful,” he added. | |
| But Dominic Raab, a justice minister and lawyer who is campaigning to leave, supported Gove’s position and rejected the claims of the attorney general. “The EU’s own legal advice makes clear the UK deal is based on vague assurances. This is not the kind of legal guarantee you get when you buy a dishwasher, so you get your money back if it breaks down,” he said. | |
| “Ultimately, it is crystal clear the Luxembourgcourt will have the last word as to what sticks, and it is free to not enforce the British deal.” | |
| Gove was also supported by Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader and fellow leave campaigner, who said the justice secretary was “of course absolutely right” as the European court of justice “could strike down Mr Cameron’s EU deal”. | |
| The controversy is the first major spat between No 10 and Gove since the justice secretary was released from collective cabinet responsibility on Saturday and said he would be campaigning for the UK to leave the EU. | The controversy is the first major spat between No 10 and Gove since the justice secretary was released from collective cabinet responsibility on Saturday and said he would be campaigning for the UK to leave the EU. |
| Gove’s wife, Sarah Vine, has written in the Daily Mail that he was tortured about choosing between his beliefs and his loyalty to Cameron, an old friend and close political ally. | Gove’s wife, Sarah Vine, has written in the Daily Mail that he was tortured about choosing between his beliefs and his loyalty to Cameron, an old friend and close political ally. |
| Portraying her husband as a lifelong Eurosceptic, tipped over the edge by dealing with the EU in government, she said: “If I’m honest, it’s all been a bit of a nightmare. Michael has been like a cat on a hot tin roof, locked in an internal struggle of agonising proportions. | Portraying her husband as a lifelong Eurosceptic, tipped over the edge by dealing with the EU in government, she said: “If I’m honest, it’s all been a bit of a nightmare. Michael has been like a cat on a hot tin roof, locked in an internal struggle of agonising proportions. |
| “He has sought counsel from friends, colleagues, relatives. But at the end of the day, only he could make the final decision: to make the choice between loyalty to his old friend, the prime minister, and his own heartfelt beliefs. It was never going to be easy. But neither of us had any idea it would be such torture either. Mr Cameron was expecting opposition from all sorts of people, but not from Michael. | “He has sought counsel from friends, colleagues, relatives. But at the end of the day, only he could make the final decision: to make the choice between loyalty to his old friend, the prime minister, and his own heartfelt beliefs. It was never going to be easy. But neither of us had any idea it would be such torture either. Mr Cameron was expecting opposition from all sorts of people, but not from Michael. |
| Related: Cameron smooths over rift with Boris Johnson as party tensions rise | Related: Cameron smooths over rift with Boris Johnson as party tensions rise |
| “When he eventually told David the truth about his feelings on the re-negotiations – that he was not inclined to support the deal in its current form – the PM was genuinely, and quite naturally, shocked and hurt.” | “When he eventually told David the truth about his feelings on the re-negotiations – that he was not inclined to support the deal in its current form – the PM was genuinely, and quite naturally, shocked and hurt.” |
| She also lifted the lid on a dinner at Johnson’s house at which he and Gove discussed their dilemma and claimed No 10 went to great lengths to try to keep him on side but concluded her husband was always going to campaign to leave. | She also lifted the lid on a dinner at Johnson’s house at which he and Gove discussed their dilemma and claimed No 10 went to great lengths to try to keep him on side but concluded her husband was always going to campaign to leave. |
| The issue of treaty change has been significant since Cameron promised his renegotiations would be enshrined in EU law. He later conceded that his deal would only be written into EU treaties at a later date, which the Eurosceptics have portrayed as “accepting a post-dated cheque”. | The issue of treaty change has been significant since Cameron promised his renegotiations would be enshrined in EU law. He later conceded that his deal would only be written into EU treaties at a later date, which the Eurosceptics have portrayed as “accepting a post-dated cheque”. |
| When his deal was announced, Cameron hailed as a victory that he would get an opt-out from the EU’s mission of “ever closer union” and protections for the City of London incorporated into treaties in future. | When his deal was announced, Cameron hailed as a victory that he would get an opt-out from the EU’s mission of “ever closer union” and protections for the City of London incorporated into treaties in future. |
| Martin Schulz, the president of the European parliament, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Cameron had achieved clarity about the ways the UK was opting out from some EU powers. | Martin Schulz, the president of the European parliament, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Cameron had achieved clarity about the ways the UK was opting out from some EU powers. |
| “Ever closer union is not binding for the UK, and in future treaty change, it will be written exactly literally like this in the treaty so nobody can tell to British voters other things,” he said. | “Ever closer union is not binding for the UK, and in future treaty change, it will be written exactly literally like this in the treaty so nobody can tell to British voters other things,” he said. |
| The dispute comes as the in campaign released its latest coordinated letter to the Telegraph warning that leaving the EU was a threat to national security. The signatories were 13 former admirals, generals and air chief marshals, following on from a letter of 36 FTSE 100 chiefs and other business leaders. | The dispute comes as the in campaign released its latest coordinated letter to the Telegraph warning that leaving the EU was a threat to national security. The signatories were 13 former admirals, generals and air chief marshals, following on from a letter of 36 FTSE 100 chiefs and other business leaders. |
| The former military chiefs, including Field Marshal Lord Bramall and former deputy Nato commander Gen Sir Richard Shirreff, said: “We are proud to have served our country, and to have played our part in keeping Britain safe ... In the forthcoming referendum, therefore, we are particularly concerned with one central question: will Britain be safer inside the EU or outside it? When we look at the world today, there seems to us only one answer.” | The former military chiefs, including Field Marshal Lord Bramall and former deputy Nato commander Gen Sir Richard Shirreff, said: “We are proud to have served our country, and to have played our part in keeping Britain safe ... In the forthcoming referendum, therefore, we are particularly concerned with one central question: will Britain be safer inside the EU or outside it? When we look at the world today, there seems to us only one answer.” |