Keep calm and carry on, says Fox over deal

A BREXIT deal could be “the easiest in the history of mankind” provided “politics” did not get in the way, according to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox.

And he told the EU yesterday that Britain “can of course survive” without a deal with the European Union to govern relations after Brexit.

The pro-Brexit minister’s calm over leaving without a deal is at odds with some of his Cabinet colleagues.

Dr Fox also warned Tory colleagues that plotting against Theresa May was a damaging distraction from the “historic task” of delivering on Brexit.

He denied his visit yesterday to the World Trade Organisation’s Swiss HQ was preparing for a no-deal scenario – which Chancellor Philip Hammond has warned would be “very, very bad for Britain”. Dr Fox told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “We don’t want to have ‘no deal’. It is much better that we have a deal than no deal.

“We can of course survive with no deal and we have to go into a negotiation with the other side knowing that’s what we think.

“But of course we want to come to a full and comprehensive deal with the EU because it’s good for the people of Britain and our economy and the workers of Europe and their economy.”

Later, he told an audience in Geneva: “It should be the easiest free trade agreement in the history of mankind, because we begin with zero tariffs and 100 per cent regulatory equivalence.”