LABOUR MP Jim Fitzpatrick was mocked yesterday after he announced his intention to vote for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal even though he hadn’t read it.
In an interview with Victoria Derbyshire on Tuesday morning, Fitzpatrick also admitted that
he hadn’t read the explanatory notes or the impact assessment.
“Have you managed to read it? Genuine question,” she asked.
“No,” the MP admitted.
“Have you tried?”
“No.”
“You haven’t tried to read any of this?”
“Not yet, no.”
“Or the explanatory notes?”
“No.”
“Or the impact assessment?”
“No.”
He added: “This is a vote in principle – the second reading vote at 7pm tonight is essentially to say ‘let’s get discussing this bill’.”
But the BBC presenter asked him: “Do you think it is acceptable to vote for something in principle, when you have not read it?”
The Poplar and Limehouse MP replied: “I will have read it by 7 o’clock tonight, I hope.”
Derbyshire asked Fitzpatrick why he only hoped to have read the 110-page bill accompanied by 124 pages of explanatory notes before voting: “Is this not what people pay you to do?” she asked.
“People pay me to make decisions, Victoria,” he replied. “And we have been discussing this in detail for the last 11-and-a-half months.”
“There are some important changes as you well know,” Derbyshire said.
WATCH: Labour MP backs Brexit bill – despite not having read it
Fitzpatrick was also asked if he would vote for Johnson’s super quick timetable. “Yes again, this is a threshold, this is a framework agreement”, he said
An SNP spokesperson called the appearance “gobsmacking”.
“For any MP to disregard the damaging impact Brexit will have is one thing, to do so without having even attempted to read it is frankly gobsmacking.
“Boris Johnson is attempting to railroad his Brexit plans through Parliament without a shred of scrutiny, without any impact assessment, and without the consent of the Scottish Parliament in this so-called partnership of equals.
“SNP MPs will not support Boris Johnson’s toxic Brexit bill through Parliament. It would be staggering if any Scottish MP became handmaidens of a Tory Brexit, which we know will be devastating for Scotland’s economy, public services and people’s livelihoods. They would never be forgiven in Scotland.”
Fitzpatrick later tweeted that he had answered “too honestly”.
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