Updated January 21, 2019 07:09:07

Photo: Mr Fox warned his parliamentary colleagues to not "steal the vote from the people". (AP: Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Westminster cannot be allowed to hijack Brexit, says the United Kingdom's International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, in a warning to MPs who want to take more control over the country's departure from the European Union.

With just weeks to go before the UK is due to leave the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May will return to Parliament today to set out how she plans to try to break the Brexit deadlock after her deal was rejected.

Time is running out for Brexit, the country's biggest shift in foreign and trade policy in more than 40 years, but so far there is little that unites a divided Parliament beyond its rejection of Mrs May's deal that envisages close economic ties with the EU.

The Opposition Labour Party is pressing for a new election and for the Prime Minister to rule out the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, while others in Parliament are lobbying for a second referendum or leaving without an agreement.

Mr Fox, a Brexit supporter, told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that Mrs May's divorce agreement with the EU was still the best basis for a deal and warned colleagues against trying to take more control of the UK's departure.

"Parliament has not got the right to hijack the Brexit process because Parliament said to the people of this country: 'we make a contract with you, you will make the decision and we will honour it'," Mr Fox said.

"What we are now getting are some of those who were always absolutely opposed to the result of the referendum trying to hijack Brexit and in effect steal the result from the people."

Britain voted with a 52 per cent majority to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum that exposed deep divisions across the country, divisions that still split cities and towns, and the country's Parliament, almost three years on.

No-deal Brexit endangers patients across the UK

Photo: A 'no-deal' scenario would jeopardise some medical treatments subject to EU agreements. (Reuters: Peter Nicholls)

After seeing her deal rejected by more than 200 MPs last week, the Mrs May has opened talks with other parties to try to find a way to break the deadlock.

But with Labour refusing to take part until Mrs May rules out leaving without a deal, some MPs fear those talks will change little and instead have said they will launch attempts next week to force the government to change course.

In a letter in response to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's request to rule out a no-deal Brexit, the Prime Minister claimed that it was "impossible" and not within her government's power.

Many people within and outside of Parliament are trying to make sure Britain does not "accidentally" leave without a deal on March 29, a scenario that a number of peak bodies have warned will be catastrophic for people across the UK which includes voices from the Council for British Industries (CBI), Universities UK, the British Chambers of Commerce, among others.

While some have pointed to the obvious economic ramifications of a no-deal scenario, others such, as the British Medical Association (BMA) have noted "potentially catastrophic" consequences for patients and health workers.

"It has become clear to the BMA that the risks of Brexit for the nation's health are too great, and that it is becoming increasingly difficult to secure the kind of deal which will work to the benefit of patients, the medical workforce and health services across the UK and Europe," wrote BMA council chair Chaand Nagpaul.

"Now that more is known regarding the potential impact of Brexit, the BMA believes the public should have a final informed say on the Brexit deal and to reject the notion of a 'no deal' given all the serious risks that such an outcome carries."

Article 50 extension an inevitability

"What happens when you have a hung parliament is that power does pass from government … to parliament and that's what we are seeing play out," Nicky Morgan, a Conservative former minister, told Sky News UK.

She said she was backing a bill that would force the government to extend Article 50, which triggered Britain's two-year talks to leave the EU, if it cannot get an agreement approved by Parliament by the end of February.

Dominic Grieve, another Conservative MP, is also looking at ways to stop the UK from leaving without a deal.

With much of the focus now on Labour, its Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said there was now only really two options that could find majority support — a future close economic relationship with the EU or a second referendum — and that it was increasingly inevitable that Article 50 would be extended.

"We've arrived at phase three and therefore we need to be realistic about what the options are," Mr Starmer told the BBC.

"Let's … reduce it to the options that are at least capable of getting a majority and that is a close economic relationship and a public vote."

ABC/Reuters

Topics: territorial-disputes, agreements-and-treaties, trade, international-aid-and-trade, international-financial-institutions, money-and-monetary-policy, health-policy, united-kingdom

First posted January 21, 2019 06:57:09