Labour will join forces with Tory rebels in an attempt to force Theresa May into giving MPs a veto on the final Brexit deal, Keir Starmer has said.



The shadow Brexit secretary demanded six changes to the “paused” repeal bill, formally known as the European Union (withdrawal) bill, including parliament being given final approval of the exit agreement.



Starmer said the government has unexpectedly withheld the legislation from the House of Commons for two weeks running because it fears defeat on at least 13 amendments at the hands of Tory rebels.



He said it was clear that ministers could not proceed with the bill as it stood and threatened to “work with all sides” to get his changes made unless ministers adopt them and end the “paralysis”.



The Conservative party’s disastrous general election has left May in charge of a minority government relying on votes from the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) to get its business through the Commons.



This means a relatively small revolt by Tory MPs could derail the bill, although ministers will hope that Brexit-backing Labour MPs will help them get it passed.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Starmer demanded:



MPs get the “final say on whether to approve the withdrawal agreement and how best to implement it”.

The transition period requested by the prime minister is added into the legislation.

A “completely different approach” to the use of so-called Henry VIII powers which the government argues it needs to make technical changes to regulations repatriated from Brussels, but which Starmer described as “silencing parliament and handing sweeping powers” to ministers.

A guarantee that workers’ and consumer rights, as well as environmental standards, are not watered down after Brexit.

A concession to devolved administrations which want repatriated powers that would normally fall under their remit to go straight to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, rather than first being taken over by the Westminster government.

Putting the EU charter of fundamental rights into UK law.

The shadow Brexit secretary wrote: “I believe there is a consensus in parliament for these changes. And there is certainly no majority for weakening rights, silencing parliament and sidelining the devolved administrations. There is a way through this paralysis. Labour will work with all sides to make that happen.”

His intervention is published after EU leaders agreed to begin “scoping work” on trade talks in a move that boosted the prime minister. But they also made clear Britain must make further concessions on its divorce bill to unlock talks on a future trading relationship.

David Davis will travel to Paris for Brexit talks on Monday after France appeared to emerge as the most hardline EU member state on the exit bill.



The French president, Emmanuel Macron, suggested at this week’s European council summit the bill could be more than €40bn (£36bn), saying that earlier indications that the UK could offer about €20bn to ensure its EU partners were not left out of pocket did not go halfway to what was required.



The prime minister repeatedly dodged questions at the Brussels summit about how much the UK is ready to pay, insisting the size of a “full and final settlement” will not emerge until agreement is reached on all aspects of Brexit.



She did not deny suggestions that it could be “many more billions” than the €20bn indicated in her speech in Florence last month, provoking Tory Brexit supporters to renew calls for a “no deal” withdrawal if the cost of an agreement is too high.



The European parliament’s chief Brexit co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, told May to confront Boris Johnson and other leavers, offer concessions to the EU and outline what sort of trade deal the government wants.



He told the Mail on Sunday: “This may require Theresa May to face down Boris Johnson and others in her own party who refuse to accept the reality of the Brexit they campaigned for … Brexiteers failed to outline the extent of UK liabilities in Europe.



“Nevertheless, what is clear is that it will not be the taxpayers of the European Union who pay Britain’s bar bill.”

May is expected to update MPs on the summit in the Commons on Monday and will reaffirm her commitment to 3 million EU nationals living in the UK who make an “extraordinary contribution”, saying: “We want them to stay”.



May will also call on EU states to recognise the value of British expats and protect their rights. She will say: “The negotiations are complicated and deeply technical but in the end they are about people – and I am determined that we will put people first.”