Brexit: Security Minister Ben Wallace warns of risk of non-agreement

Security Minister Ben Wallace has warned of a "Brexit without agreement" that would affect the security of the UK and European public.

In a speech to law enforcement officials, he will say that "the heart of effective security is close cooperation".

Mr Wallace will say that Theresa May's agreement, on which MEPs will vote next month, will lay the groundwork for the most comprehensive security relationship in EU history.

But Diane Abbott, of Labor, said the plan "fails in terms of security guarantee".

The party of the Secretary of State for the Interior must table an amendment to reject the agreement, but also "prevent the chaos caused by the collapse of the United Kingdom out of the country." EU ".

The UK must leave the EU on March 29, 2019 but, under the agreement reached with Ms. May, the UK and the EU would continue to work together, as they do currently, during a transition period until December 31, 2020.

The agreement on how the UK will leave the EU is accompanied by a non-binding statement on future relations between the EU and the UK and the promise to cooperate in safety issue after the transition period is set out in this document.

MPs must vote on the deal on December 11. If they refuse – and no other solution is found – the United Kingdom could leave without an agreement and the current agreements on security cooperation would end on March 29th without anything being done. replace them.

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Mr. Wallace is scheduled to speak at the International Security Expo in London, where he will declare that such a departure without agreement would be a step backward for security cooperation.

Leadsom letter

He will say that the United Kingdom, through the experience of the last decades, has understood the interest of working with its European partners.

"And we and Europe know, through bitter experience, that often, when there is an error or when we have forgotten something that we have found on many occasions, this is due to a lack of cooperation.

"A non-agreement situation would have a real impact on our ability to work with our European partners to protect the public."

In other developments:

• The United Kingdom and the United States have concluded an "open skies" agreement for post-Brexit flights, which means that the airlines can continue to act as liaisons between the two countries.

• House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, who is part of a group of ministers who have expressed concern over the Brexit deal, has written a letter to her constituents confirming that she is not going to vote. she will vote for the Prime Minister's plans.

• British pharmaceutical companies have urged the government to do more to prepare for any disruption in ports to ensure that patients have access to medicines if the UK leaves the EU without agreement

Analysis

By Dominic Casciani, BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

The UK wants to maintain all existing security arrangements – and it knows that the EU wants to maintain this high level of cooperation for the sake of its mutual interest. But there are problems.

Critics of the government's hopes for post-Brexit security fear that the proposed final relationship with the EU – which would come into force in 2021 – does not meet its aspirations or aspirations, but lacks solutions.

It is not clear whether the UK will be able to access EU-organized databases, such as those that exchange criminal records, search alerts, DNA fingerprints or fingerprints after the transition.

Once the transition is complete, so is the access to the data – unless a security treaty can be agreed upon.

But even if this treaty is signed, it may not succeed. Some countries, such as Germany, have constitutional restrictions on how they can cooperate on security with third countries.

In his address, Mr. Wallace will say that Ms. May's agreement would lay the groundwork for the broader security relationship that the EU has had with another country.

The partnership would include the possibility of exchanging information on criminals and combating terrorism, to quickly share data on people traveling to and from the UK, to detect potential threats, to Exchange DNA and fingerprints, and speed up extraditions.

Ms. Abbott described the government's plans as "dangerously fragile".

She said: "No new security treaty is proposed, which is vital for cross-border policing, especially for extradition".

She added that there were "only aspirations for a vague security partnership, no plans for appropriate security arrangements, including with Europol" and that it was "all simply unacceptable ".

Work amendment

As the vote on the Prime Minister's agreement approaches, details of what will happen in Parliament during the preparation period have been released.

The communes will discuss the agreement eight hours a day on December 4th, 5th, 6th, 10th and 11th, within the framework of commercial proposals defined by the government.

Members will, however, be allowed to table six amendments to the Brexit motion, which will be selected by Speaker John Bercow and heard before the vote on December 11.

The Labor Party tabled an amendment "rejecting Theresa May's botched Brexit agreement" to end a non-agreement, demanding that all options be left on the table if the vote is rejected.

Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the deal "constitutes a dismal failure of a government's negotiations that has squandered its efforts over the past two years, instead of securing a better deal with the government." ; EU ".

Conservative Party President Brandon Lewis called the amendment "shameful and irresponsible behavior," adding, "All they are interested in is trying to force a general election."