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The letter from President Tusk confirms what I said in the House before Christmas, namely that the assurances in the European Council conclusions have legal standing in the EU.
Mr Speaker, my right honourable friend the attorney-general, has also written to me today, confirming that in the light of the joint response from the presidents of the European Council and the Commission, these conclusions, quote: "would have legal force in international law," and setting out his opinion.
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And setting out his opinion, reinforced by today's letter, that the balance of risks favours the conclusion that it is unlikely that the EU will with to rely on the implementation of the backstop provisions.
And further that it is therefore his judgement that the current draft withdrawal agreement now represents the only politically practicable and available means of securing our exit from the European Union.
Whatever version of the future relationship you might want to see, from Norway, to Canada, to any number of variations, all of them require a withdrawal agreement, and any withdrawal agreement will contain the backstop, and that is not going to change, however the House votes tomorrow.
So I say to members on all sides of this House, whatever you may have previously concluded, over these next 24 hours give this deal a second look. No, it is not perfect, and yes, it is a compromise.
But when the history books are written, people will look at the decision...
People... people will look... people will look at the decision of this House tomorrow and ask, did we deliver on the country's vote to leave the European Union? Did we safeguard our economy, our security, and our union? Or did we let the British people down?
I say... I say we should deliver for the British people and get on with building a brighter future for our country by backing this deal tomorrow, and I commend this statement to the House.
