Cable: Boris is on brink of quitting over EU row
... but he says: Nonsense, I’m working closely with Hammond
BORIS Johnson was last night forced to deny he is on the verge of quitting over Brexit amid claims of Cabinet ‘civil war’.
Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat leader, claimed tensions over Brexit could result in the departure of the Foreign Secretary from government.
Lib Dem sources claimed Mr Johnson had told a senior civil servant he would resign if Chancellor Philip Hammond succeeded in watering down Brexit.
Mr Johnson’s aides initially declined to comment. But a spokesman for the Foreign Secretary later insisted he was working in harmony with Mr Hammond and accused Sir Vince of ‘peddling lies’.
Senior Tories dismissed the Lib Dem leader’s claim as ‘mischief’.
The former Coalition cabinet minister claimed recent days had exposed a ‘deep, unbridgeable chasm between the Brexit fundamentalists and the pragmatists’. He added: ‘Businesses which might have hoped Philip Hammond had pulled the Government back from a commitment to a catastrophic cliff edge, crashing out of the EU, have been misled. There is no Cabinet consensus for moderation – and the rumours of Boris Johnson being about to resign fuel the uncertainty.’
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: ‘Boris and Philip Hammond are working closely to take the UK out of the EU, and are not going to be diverted from that important task. Vince Cable is making his stuff up. Maybe he should take more time to think up some policies rather than waste his time on peddling lies.’
The row came amid more Cabinet tensions on Brexit yesterday. Tory sources said neither Mr Johnson nor International Trade Secretary Liam Fox were made fully aware in advance of the scale of Mr Hammond’s proposal for a ‘transi- tion’ that could see EU migration remain unchecked till 2022.
Both were out of the UK last week when transition deal plans were set out by Mr Hammond and Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
The Chancellor claimed the Cabinet was united behind his vision for a drawn-out exit, saying ‘nobody’ was seeking a ‘cliff edge’ end to mass EU immigration. But a source close to Dr Fox said: ‘All that is still up for debate.’ It is understood Mr Johnson was also kept in the dark over how far Mr Hammond would claim Cabinet unity on the issue.
Gerard Lyons, former adviser to Mr Johnson, said: ‘The leader is away so those in other senior roles seem to think they can play. New ideas on Brexit should not be floated in public as if Government policy is being made by whoever can occupy the news agenda.’ Dr Fox told the Sunday Times any bid to allow free movement past 2019 would ‘not keep faith’ with the Brexit vote. ‘If there have been discussions on that, I have not been party to them,’ he said. The revelations will fuel concern that Mr Hammond took advantage of the absence of Theresa May and leading Brexiteers. Leave Means Leave campaigner Richard Tice said the Chancellor’s plan was ‘basically no change … a complete betrayal of what the public voted for’ and called for him to be sacked if he does not agree with the PM’s vision for Brexit. An ally of the Chancellor said: ‘Hammond is on top of his argument. Fox, Gove and Johnson are in fantasy land.’ Government sources said the Cabinet was agreed on the need for a transitional deal.