Maajid On Why Dominic Grieve Is The Real Leader Of The Opposition

20 January 2019, 13:52 | Updated: 20 January 2019, 14:00

Maajid Nawaz reacts to leaked documents that reveal plans to block a no-deal Brexit by allowing backbenchers to introduce legislation to extend or revoke Article 50.

Led by Tory Remainer and former QC Dominic Grieve is reported to be working with a cross-party group of MPs, including Remain-sided Labour members, to draw up an amendment that could allow rebel groups to take control of the parliamentary timetable.

With just 300 votes, and backing from at least one MP from each party and 10 from the governing party, a motion will be the first item of business on the next day in the House of Commons.

And emails obtained by the Sunday Times have reportedly revealed Mr Grieve's secret communications with the clerk of bills with the 'explicit intention of suspending Britain's departure from the EU'.

But Maajid Nawaz, who has been critical of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership over Brexit, thinks the Tory rebel has stepped into the role of leader of the opposition.

"It does appear to me that Dominic Grieve is doing a better job resisting Theresa May's Brexit machinations than Jeremy Corbyn himself," he said.

As Maajid explains: "Custom dictates in Parliament that any piece of legislation proposed by the government has priority hearing in Parliament and therefore gets debated first, and because the government has a majority of the seats they can usually pass their legislative agenda as a result.

"What Dominic Grieve has done go to see the speaker of the house and now these leaked emails indicates he's been in secret communications with the clerk of bills to try and put forward a plot which means he will gain support for suspending the protocol which dictates government legislation gets a hearing first and instead allows for backbencher MPs to propose their own legislation and to have that heard as a priority over government legislation."

Watch Maajid's explosive reaction to the leaked documents in the video above.