UK government publishes plan for Brexit

The plan mentions Theresa May's 12 negotiating objectives for Brexit which she had unveiled in a speech last month.

London, Feb 2: The UK government today published a White Paper on its negotiating plans for an exit from the European Union, a day after Prime Minister Theresa May won crucial parliamentary approval to begin tough Brexit talks.

David Davis, minister for exiting the European Union, told the House of Commons that the government will publish another White Paper before the Great Repeal Bill, which will formally mark Britain's intention to break from the laws governing the 28-member economic bloc after the June 2016 referendum in favour of Brexit.

"We approach the negotiation to come in a spirit of good will and working to an outcome in our mutual benefit," Davis told Parliament, adding that Britian's "best days are yet to come". "I will not be throwing people out of Britain," he added, in reference to a question about the rights of European Union citizens based in the UK following Brexit. The White Paper spells out in detail May's 12 negotiating objectives for Brexit unveiled in a speech last month.

It confirms that the final Brexit deal will be presented before Parliament for ratification and that the UK would pursue a fresh tariff-free trade agreement with the EU after an exit from the common single market. The White Paper comes a day after British MPs voted in favour of May invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon to trigger the two-year timeline to negotiate a new deal as a non-member of the EU.

MPs backed the European Union (Notification) Bill by 498 votes to 114 last night, with 47 Opposition Labour party rebels voting against. The bill will now face more debate before it can become law. MPs will discuss the bill in more detail next week when it reaches the committee stage in the Commons, and Labour has vowed to force through amendments.

PTI