MPs could be forced to work weekends and throughout February’s parliamentary recess amid fears vital new legislation will not be properly scrutinised in time for Brexit.
Bills on trade, agriculture, fisheries, immigration and financial services must get through Westminster before Britain leaves the EU and Number 10 has signalled whips could take the drastic steps to handle the extra workload before exit day on March 29.
Theresa May has insisted that, despite widespread opposition, her deal will get through parliament and that she is not planning to extend the Article 50.
It has emerged chief whip Julian Smith and Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay have held meetings over how some seven bills can be thoroughly debated before the fast-approaching deadline.
And that could mean MPs’ weekends and February break are cancelled altogether.
When pressed on the issue during a briefing with journalists on Monday, a spokesman for Number 10 said: “What we are committed to doing is ensuring the statute book is ready for exit day and we will do whatever is required to deliver that.”
He added: “In terms of precisely what is required, that is a judgement for the whips and for the house, but we are committed to ensuring the legislation is in place.”
The legislation yet to get through parliament includes the PM’s overall withdrawal agreement, on which debate is due to resume on Wednesday.
The spokesman added: “We are working to deliver on the prime minister’s deal to leave the EU with a deal the bills which are currently being considered by parliament are trade bill, agriculture bill, fisheries bill, healthcare bill, immigration bill and financial services bill, all of which are at different stages in either the first or the second house.”
May is likely to update MPs before then on her Brexit deal, having spoken to a number of key EU leaders over the Christmas break as she bids to win concessions over the controversial Northern Irish backstop.
It comes amid heightened fears that a no-deal Brexit – the legal default should MPs fail to reach agreement – could be on the cards.
The figures the PM spoke with include Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez, European Council president Donald Tusk, German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Emmanuel Macron, Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar and European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker.
British and Irish officials have also been in direct contact, it was confirmed, but there are no plans for either May or Barclay to visit Brussels for further talks.
“This process is ongoing, but I think you have seen in public comments from some of the leaders that they are prepared to carry on having conversations about what further assurances and clarifications they can provide,” the Number 10 spokesman added.
May will hold talks in Downing Street on Thursday with Japanese premier Shinzo Abe, who has expressed concern about the consequences of a no-deal Brexit.
Following a speech on the future of the NHS at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Hospital on Monday, the PM herself claimed that there had been “some further movement” from the EU at the December European Council meeting.
She said: “In the coming days, what we will set out is not just about the EU but also about what we can do domestically.
“So we will be setting out measures which will be specific to Northern Ireland, we will be setting out proposals for a greater role for parliament as we move into the next stage of the negotiation and we are continuing to work on further assurances on further undertakings from the European Union in relation to the concern that has been expressed by parliamentarians.”