Jeremy Corbyn ‘stomps out’ of Brexit meeting with Theresa May and other party leaders
Jeremy Corbyn “stomped out” of a meeting with Theresa May and other party leaders after expressing anger at the Independent Group having been invited, MPs have claimed.
The Labour leader was reportedly furious that Chuka Umunna, who quit Labour last month, was at the meeting.
Ms May held talks with the Westminster leaders of Labour, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party on Wednesday night as she prepares to travel to Brussels to seek a delay to Brexit.
The Independent Group, which has 11 MPs, was also invited to attend.
That is said to have angered Mr Corbyn, who reportedly claimed that Mr Umunna, the group’s spokesperson, was “not a proper party leader”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said: “Jeremy Corbyn’s kinder, gentler politics was found wanting as he stomped out of the meeting before it began rather than breathe the same air as Chuka Umunna.”
Asked about the row, a Labour spokesperson said: “It was not the meeting that had been agreed and the terms were broken. We are in discussions with Number 10 about holding the bilateral meeting with the PM that Jeremy proposed at PMQs.”
In a joint statement released after the meeting, the Westminster leaders of the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party said Ms May must not be allowed to “bully” MPs into backing her Brexit deal.
Ian Blackford, Sir Vince Cable, Liz Saville-Roberts and Caroline Lucas said: “We agree that the House of Commons must formulate a plan that will give the European Union Council the confidence to agree a longer extension beyond 30 June, so that by the end of next week legislation can be in place to prevent a no-deal exit.
“Parliament should now sit in continuous session until it can reach a decision and set out a clear plan. “We will be pushing for the House of Commons to support a referendum on remaining in the EU, others will put forward their own positions.
They added: “If the Commons cannot agree, as a last resort we would be prepared to take steps to secure a parliamentary vote on the revocation of Article 50. The prime minister must not be allowed to bully MPs into a choice between her bad deal and no deal. That would make Brexit a choice between disaster and catastrophe, and that would be a failure of truly historic proportions.
“The UK – and all of its people and nations – deserve better.”
It comes after Ms May announced that she would ask the EU to delay Brexit by three months – angering pro-EU MPs, who insisted that a longer extension was needed to ensure the UK does not leave the bloc without a deal.
The prime minister told MPs: “The government intends to bring forward proposals for a third meaningful vote.
“If that vote is passed, the extension will give the House time to consider the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. If not, the House will have to decide how to proceed.
“But as prime minister, I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than June 30.”
The UK’s request for a delay to Brexit will be discussed at a European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday.
