A motion tabled by Labour, the SNP, other opposition parties and the DUP which argued ministers were in contempt due to their failure to fully publish advice given by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox was approved by 311 votes to 293, majority 18. Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary who represents the opposition Labour Party, has accused Geoffrey Cox, a Conservative Member of Parliament and current Attorney General, of failing to honor a House of Commons vote last month demanding that Prime Minister Theresa May's government publish, in full, the advice it received for its proposed agreement on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. ‘We’ve listened carefully and in light of the expressed will of the House we will publish the final and full advice provided by the Attorney General to Cabinet but recognising the very serious constitutional issues this raises I have referred the matter to the privileges committee to consider the implications of the humble address.’

The government suffered a third Commons defeat of the day after MPs approved an amendment from Tory Dominic Grieve which aims to give them a greater say should the Brexit deal be defeated on December 11. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox insisted the Government has "gone out of its way" to satisfy the terms of the humble address to the Queen passed by Parliament on November 13 which demanded the release of the legal advice in full. Refusal to publish Brexit deal triggers contempt of Parliament debate in Commons

The UK government may have broken Parliamentary rules by not publishing Brexit legal advice, the Commons Speaker has said. The advice, from Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, the country’s top law officer, examines the legal effect of the so-called backstop arrangement, or Northern Ireland protocol, which is an emergency measure within May’s proposals designed to maintain an invisible border in Ireland.
The Government of the United Kingdom is found to be in contempt of parliament for the first time in history. The motion, which passed by 311 to 293 votes in the House of Commons, was triggered by Theresa May's government failing to publish its legal advice on its Brexit withdrawal plan.