Theresa May to unveil plans for converting EU law via 'Henry VIII clauses' later this month

Detailed plans for restoring the UK Parliament’s sovereignty after Brexit are to be published within days, the Telegraph understands.

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Proposals for converting EU law into UK law and repealing the legislation that took Britain into the bloc will be published when Brexit is triggered.

A small number of drafts of the White Paper - which is said to be around 50 page long - have been circling Whitehall in recent weeks.

Government sources said the document will be published when Theresa May formally triggers Article 50 by the end of this month. Whitehall figures believe the date will be March 29.

Proposals will reveal full details for how the Government will end the rule of European law by introducing legislation dubbed the "Great Repeal Bill”.
"That is what people voted for: power and authority residing once again with the sovereign institutions of our own country."David Davis

Two fundamental changes will be proposed. The first is repealing the European Communities Act 1972, the historic law that took Britain into the EU.

The second is for thousands of European laws, dictats and directives to be turned into UK law before Brexit is completed in mid-2019.

However ministers are braced for "controversy” because they propose doing so though a little-known power 500-years old.

So-called "Henry VIII clauses” give the Government powers to change old laws that have already been passed by Parliament.

However critics say they avoid scrutiny and - crucially - circumvent the Lords because it means less parliamentary debate than usual.

"The provision of Henry VIII clauses will be in there,” said one senior Government source. "It will probably be one of the most controversial bits of the Bill.”

Ministers say the clauses will help quickly update thousands of EU rulings, many of which name European bodies that will no longer apply after Brexit.

"We would be converting EU law into British law forever otherwise. It would literally be years and years and years,” said the same source.

But Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said the party would to try and block any legislation invovling such clauses.

"The government should know – we are putting them on notice – the government are playing with fire over the Great Repeal Bill," he said.

"This bill is the biggest power grab since the days of Henry VIII. The Liberal Democrats will not sit there and let the government say all the right things while eroding vital rights and protections that makes Britain what it is.

"We will, if needed, grind the government’s agenda to a standstill, unless proper and rigorous safeguards are given over the Great Repeal Bill.  The ball is now in the Prime Minister’s court.”

David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, has previously defended the plans. He said at the Tory conference last year: "To ensure continuity, we will take a simple approach. EU law will be transposed into domestic law, wherever practical, on exit day.

"It will be for elected politicians here to make the changes to reflect the outcome of our negotiation and our exit.

"That is what people voted for: power and authority residing once again with the sovereign institutions of our own country."