Guido understands the Government was caught out by last night’s FT scoop claiming various provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement will be “disapplied” in the event of no Free Trade Agreement being reached. Downing Street is very annoyed at not having been able to explain the plans in their own terms. Not that there was much clarity from ministers this morning…

The Government’s plans are not as dramatic as first appears. As things stands the Withdrawal Agreement committed the UK and the EU to establishing a joint committee to oversee, monitor, and interpret the application of the Agreement. In the event of no agreement being reached there will also by definition be no agreement over the interpretation of the WA, and its Irish Protocol, which is in parts extraordinarily vague. This is where Wednesday’s legislation comes in…

The description being used by Government is as a “safety net” so there will be clear interpretation of the protocol in UK law that does not risk creating internal borders within the UK – a move that itself may have implications for the Northern Irish peace process. The Government’s interpretation of the treaty “will not allow barriers to internal trade” according to a source close to the plans. The Government sees this as a pro-Union, legal move. Remainers see it as the opposite. We won’t get to see the specifics until Wednesday…