Theresa May signs Brexit letter to trigger Article 50

Theresa May signs Brexit letter to trigger Article 50



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Theresa May has tonight signed the letter to EU President Donald Tusk informing him that the UK is triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the formal method of leaving the 28-member bloc.

The letter was due to be conveyed to Brussels by diplomats tonight to be handed to Mr Tusk by Britain’s ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Barrow at lunchtime tomorrow.

It starts a two-year process that will see the UK leave the EU on March 29, 2019.



The decision on free movement means tonight raised fears of a rush to beat the deadline.

A Government source insisted the Prime Minister had not avoided an early confrontation with Brussels in order to smooth the opening of negotiations.

‘We have not ducked anything,’ the source said. ‘The fact is that we have not got a reciprocal deal on the rights of citizens abroad so we cannot set a date for the start of a new system.’

Another source said the Home Office was concerned about the practical difficulties of enforcing a cut-off date before the introduction of a new post-Brexit immigration regime.

The formal triggering of Article 50 comes nine months after Britain voted by 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the EU.



In a statement to MPs tomorrow, Mrs May will say now is the time for the country to ‘come together’ to achieve the best possible Brexit deal.

She will say the public should be ‘no longer defined by the vote we cast, but by our determination to make a success of the result’.

‘We are one great union of people and nations with a proud history and a bright future,’ she will say.

‘And, now that the decision has been made to leave the EU, it is time to come together.’



The Prime Minister will pledge to represent ‘every person in the UK’, during talks with Brussels, including diehard Remain voters and 3.2million EU citizens living here.

Setting out her ambitions for the negotiations, she will pledge to make the UK stronger, fairer and more secure.

‘It is my fierce determination to get the right deal for every single person in this country,’ she will say.

‘For, as we face the opportunities ahead of us on this momentous journey, our shared values, interests and ambitions can, and must, bring us together.’

Sources said the letter to Mr Tusk would set out the ‘broad principles’ of Mrs May’s negotiating aims, without getting into the detail.



The document is expected to confirm that Brexit will involve the UK’s departure from the EU’s single market, because membership would mean accepting free movement and EU court rulings.

Mrs May is expected to demand that trade talks are conducted in parallel with wrangling over the terms of the UK’s exit. EU leaders have warned of a £50billion divorce bill.

The Prime Minister will call for an early agreement guaranteeing the rights of 3.2million EU citizens living in the UK and 1.2million British citizens in Europe.

Government lawyers have warned that any cut-off prior to the end of Britain’s EU membership would face court challenges.

Sources said a date is unlikely to be set until a deal has reciprocal citizen rights have been agreed.

The European Parliament today threatened to block a final Brexit deal if the UK tried to introduce such a ‘cut-off’ before its full departure from the EU.

A resolution setting out MEPs’ demands will be voted on next week and will include a provision for ‘non-discrimination’ against EU citizens in the UK.

A source who has seen the document said: ‘The Parliament will demand that EU free movement law is applied until the day the UK leaves.’

The Article 50 process has never been used before. Ministers believe that, after today, the UK’s departure from the organisation it joined in 1973 will be irrevocable.

In theory, the two-year Brexit talks could extended by a year if every country in the EU agrees. But ministers believe they can strike an agreement within the two-year deadline, even if some form of ‘transitional arrangement’ continues to govern aspects of trade for another two or three years beyond 2019.



Mrs May telephoned Mr Tusk, along with German chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker tonight to confirm she will trigger Article 50 today.

A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘In separate calls, they agreed that a strong EU was in everyone’s interests and that the UK would remain a close and committed ally.

‘They also agreed on the importance of entering into negotiations in a constructive and positive spirit, and of ensuring a smooth and orderly exit process.

Mr Tusk will set out the EU’s ‘draft negotiation guidelines’ by the end of the week before sending them to the 27 remaining states for consultation.