The UK Government's plans for Brexit are "in paralysis", Labour has claimed after sources at Westminster suggested the flagship Withdrawal Bill will be delayed again, possibly until mid November.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit Secretary, said there was "chaos at the heart of Government" over the approach to leaving the European Union.
But the Brexit Department insisted it was "completely false" to suggest the bill had been pushed back because no formal date for its return to the Commons had been fixed.
One Whitehall source noted: "There is not enough political agreement yet."
The so-called repeal bill, which will put existing EU regulations on the domestic statute book, cleared its first Commons hurdle on September 11 but has not been debated since then.
Ahead of detailed scrutiny in the committee stage, MPs have tabled some 300 amendments and 54 new clauses, potentially causing headaches for Theresa May's whips given that the precarious Commons majority secured with the help of the DUP would be vulnerable to any Tory revolt.
The official announcement of next week's Commons business will take place today but Labour sources indicated the Bill was not expected to be listed.
Sir Keir said: "This is further proof that the Government's Brexit strategy is in paralysis.
"The negotiations are in deadlock and now a crucial piece of legislation is facing further delay."
He went on: "There is chaos at the heart of Government. Theresa May cannot unite her Cabinet or her party behind this deeply-flawed Bill.
"There are now serious questions about whether the Prime Minister can deliver Brexit."
When the issue was raised with senior Tory sources, they declined to comment, referring only to how Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom will confirm next week's business in the regular statement on Thursday.
When the legislation was missing from last week's statement Mrs Leadsom told MPs it was "taking a bit of time to have proper, thoughtful, well-considered responses" to the proposed changes but the Bill would return "just as soon as we're able to".
That had been taken as a sign the legislation could return in next week's business.
MPs are due to spend eight days debating the bill at committee stage, which will then undergo further scrutiny in the Commons and the Lords before it is approved.
Ahead of its final stage in the second chamber, MSPs will be asked to give their consent. However, thus far Nicola Sturgeon has made clear she could not recommend her MSPs to support the bill. The First Minister like her Welsh counterpart, Labour's Carwyn Jones, believes the legislation is a "power-grab" by Whitehall; a contention denied by UK Government ministers.
A Department for Exiting the European Union spokesman said: "The Withdrawal Bill is an essential piece of legislation in the national interest. It is completely false to suggest that there has been a delay to the bill as it has yet to be scheduled to enter committee stage.”
But Labour MP Chuka Umunna, co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on EU Relations, said: "I am not at all surprised at this delay on the EU Withdrawal Bill; it is a badly-drafted Bill, and badly thought through.
"The number of amendments has given ministers a lot to think about, which shows Parliament is taking back control and is already doing its job of scrutiny well on this," he added.
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