Katy Balls Katy Balls

Finally, a minister treats us like adults on Brexit

What does it take to boost Tory morale these days? Oddly enough, the answer appears to be an hour-long session on troubling legal advice. With an Opposition Day debate leading to a demand for Theresa May to publish the EU withdrawal bill legal advice in full, the Prime Minister attempted to satisfy angry MPs by sending her Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to answer questions on the legal implications of the proposed Brexit deal.

The Brexiteer – who drew comparisons to the Lion King’s Mufasa with his barnstorming conference speech – told MPs that while the government was disinclined to publish the advice in full, his presence ought to go some way to satisfying them given that an attorney general has only appeared in this way in Parliament a handful of times in the last 50 years.

While it’s safe to say Labour MPs, Tory Brexiteers and the DUP still wish for the full advice to be made available, Cox’s appearance at the despatch box did go some way into rallying the troops.

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