The First Minister set out yesterday our position on a continuity Bill. The UK Government's European Union (Withdrawal) Bill places constraints on the National Assembly's legislative competence, which, for the reasons just set out by Dai Lloyd, are wholly unacceptable. The Welsh Government will not be able to recommend consent to the EU withdrawal Bill as it currently stands. Not that this is at all, as Neil Hamilton acknowledged, about frustrating Brexit. The Welsh Government's preference remains that the UK Government's European withdrawal Bill is a success. We understand the case for providing legal clarity and certainty for citizens and businesses as we leave the European Union. Opposition is the same as that set out by Steffan Lewis when he said that it is not, and never has been, the preferred option of Plaid Cymru that we have to rely on a continuity Bill. But, without the necessary amendments to the withdrawal Bill that fully respect the devolution settlement, we have to prepare our position.

That is why we, along with the Scottish Government, put forward amendments to the withdrawal Bill that would have ensured that the devolution settlement was properly respected. Of course, we are deeply disappointed, first of all that the amendments were not accepted by the UK Government, and then that the UK Government itself failed to honour the promise it had made on the floor of the House of Commons to bring forward amendments at the Report Stage. We need to see firm proposals from the UK Government on amendments to the withdrawal Bill that respect the devolution settlement and that would then allow us to recommend a legislative consent motion to the Assembly.

We will now take our fight to the House of Lords. I look forward to a joint event, sponsored together by the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government, that we will hold there shortly, in which we will make our case there for the amendments that we see are necessary. And we continue to work closely with the Scottish Government on the content, on the timing, on the tactics that we will use to make sure that our joint interests in securing the devolved responsibilities of the Scottish Parliament and of the National Assembly for Wales are safeguarded in that process. If that does not happen, then the First Minister has commissioned the necessary work to prepare a continuity Bill that will provide clarity and certainty for the citizens of Wales as we leave the European Union.

We have been undertaking work on the continuity Bill. We are confident that the Bill is in a state of readiness and could be put before the National Assembly if needed. In his written—