Brexit backstop is ‘calculated risk’, Attorney General admits

The Attorney General admitted today that the draft Brexit deal was a calculated risk.

Britain could be indefinitely stuck, following EU rules and the customs union, if trade talks break down after Brexit. But he said it was better than the chaos of voting against it.

However, the refusal to publish his full legal advice to the cabinet – despite a vote by MPs demanding it – means that six opposition parties including the DUP have begun proceedings to hold the Attorney General in contempt of Parliament.