Taking back control? Tory MP asks Polish govt to veto Article 50 extension

Daniel Kawczynski MP checking out the lemons in his local Tesco (Photograph: Twitter) Twitter

A hardline Brexiteer MP has demonstrated taking back control in action - by asking the Polish government to veto any extension of Article 50.

Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in.

Become a Supporter Almost four years after its creation The New European goes from strength to strength across print and online, offering a pro-European perspective on Brexit and reporting on the political response to the coronavirus outbreak, climate change and international politics. But we can only continue to grow with your support.

Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski has announced he had formally asked Mateusz Morawiecki’s right-wing government to step in and stop any attempt by the EU to postpone Britain’s departure.

Writing on Twitter, Kawczynski said: “Any attempts by Remainer MPs to delay or obstruct #Brexit must be opposed.

“Today I have formally asked Polish Government to veto any motions by EU to allow extension of Article 50. We are leaving 11pm on March 29th as promised @StandUp4Brexit.”

Labour MP Virendra Sharma, a champion of the anti-Brexit campaign group Best for Britain, said: “It appears that Kawczynski has today appointed himself as roving Ambassador to Poland. I am sure Warsaw has been waiting for his letter with bated breath.

“I don’t envy Daniel’s burden of self-awareness. Taking back control by asking a foreign government to veto a request made by the sovereign British Parliament is an interesting move.”

Warsaw-born Kawczynski, the first Polish-born MP to sit in Parliament, was first elected in 2005 but has mainly been on the fringes of the Conservative parliamentary party.

He has supported a Jacob Rees-Mogg leadership bid. In the 2016 Conservative leadership election, he tweeted his support for Michael Gove but subsequently deleted it upon realising it said “Michael Grove”.

His previous intellectual contribution to the Brexit debate came last year when, declaring the EU a “protectionist racket”, he tweeted that Brits would pay less for fruit and vegetables after Brexit and posted a picture of himself in his local Tesco.

Other Twitter users were quick to point out all the pictured fruit and veg were from countries with whom the EU had free trade agreements and thus were subject to 0% tariffs.