A parliamentary commission in the UK has warned that a 'managed no deal' Brexit cannot become the policy of any "responsible government".

The Exiting the EU Committee has published its response to the defeat of Theresa May's Brexit deal in the House of Commons earlier this month.

The committee acknowledges that there's no majority in parliament for the deal in its current form.

It examines the feasibility of alternative options, such as a 'Canada Plus' deal, renegotiating the Irish backstop or holding a second Brexit referendum.

However, it contains a series of stark warnings about the risk of a no deal Brexit - highlighting potential risks, including whether it would be possible to maintain an open border in Ireland.

It looks at the possibility of a 'managed no deal', referring to a situation where 'side arrangements' would be made to limit the effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

However, the report states: "While the EU might agree to side deals to mitigate the worst of the disruption of a no deal outcome, this cannot be guaranteed, and we are concerned by the extent to which assumptions of an ongoing cooperative relationship underpin the government’s no deal planning.

"Since these assumptions cannot be guaranteed, a 'managed no deal' cannot constitute the policy of any responsible government."

No deal risks

Committee chair Hilary Benn observed: “Having taken a wide range of evidence on the implications of a no deal Brexit, the committee is clear that this cannot be allowed to happen.

“It would disrupt supply chains, create costs and uncertainty for businesses, threaten the reintroduction of tariffs and new non-tariff barriers which would affect competitiveness and many small businesses are not ready because they don’t know what to plan for."

He added: "It would also raise questions in the minds of EU citizens here and British citizens living in other EU countries about their future rights and status and about how to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland."

MPs in Westminster will tomorrow debate and vote on a series of key Brexit amendments.

While it's not yet known which ones will be put to a final vote, the possible amendments include bids to prevent a no deal exit from the EU.