In new Brexit turmoil, UK may break law in ‘limited way’

The United Kingdom headed into a fresh round of Brexit trade talks acknowledging it could break international law but only in a “limited way” after reports it may undercut its divorce treaty with the European Union.

As the pound fell sharply on Tuesday on fears of a no-deal exit, the government’s legal department head, Jonathan Jones, quit in disagreement with a plan to overwrite parts of the Withdrawal Agreement treaty signed in January.

The UK left the EU on January 31 but talks on new trade terms have made little headway as the clock ticks down to an October 15 deadline, and then the end of the status-quo transition arrangement in late December.