Labour has slapped down Theresa May's "trickery" after the PM tried to separate the deal from the future relationship.
MPs will hold a Brexit debate tomorrow Brexit: MPs' showdown tomorrow mired in chaos over Theresa May's deal 'trickery'
But confusion erupted after it emerged it will not be a full-blown "meaningful vote 3".
The Shadow Brexit Secretary issued a stark warning that separating the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration would mean the UK "would be leaving the EU, but with absolutely no idea where we are heading".
He added: "That cannot be acceptable and Labour will not vote for it."
Mrs May's fudge is an attempt to avoid a third defeat on her ill-fated deal after her promise to stand down before the second phase of negotiations failed to win over the DUP and around 30 Brexiteers .
Brexit: MPs' showdown tomorrow mired in chaos over Theresa May's deal 'trickery'
Keir Starmer warned that the PM's announcement that she will step down, the UK's future will be decided on the back of a Tory leadership contest.
“My biggest fear is that unless Parliament takes a stand now, the outcome of the negotiations is going to be determined by the outcome of next Tory leadership contest.
“It could be a Boris Johnson Brexit. A Jacob Rees-Mogg Brexit. Or a Michael Gove Brexit.
“That should give anyone considering supporting May’s deal on Friday serious concern."
And he emphasised the repeated assertions from the EU that the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political declaration could not be divided.
On 14 January Mrs May told MPs there was“absolute clarity on the explicit linkage between the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration”.
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She added: “the link between [the two documents] means that the commitments of one cannot be banked without the commitments of the other. The EU has been clear that they come as a package.”
The joint letter from President Juncker and President Tusk on 14 January said: “As for the link between the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration….it can be made clear that these two documents, while being of a different nature, are part of the same negotiated package”.
Labour MP Ben Bradshaw warned of "more attempted trickery and potential illegal trickery by the government", saying an uncoupling would be "completely intolerable, not only potentially illegal".
