Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Brexit car crash Divorce bill is ‘£10bn more than claimed’
Thousands of jobs at risk after firms halve investment
THE Brexit divorce bill could be £10billion more than ministers have admitted, MPS have warned.
Any “EU dividend” may never materialise and, if it does, it won’t be seen for a number of years, the Public Accounts Committee said.
MPS say the UK will have to pay more than the £35billion-to-£39billion estimated by the Treasury.
Meg Hillier, Labour chair of the committee, said: “The narrow estimate of the so-called divorce bill... omits at least £10billion of anticipated costs associated with EU withdrawal.”
Brexit laws received the Royal Assent yesterday with Theresa May saying it was “a major building block for the UK’S bright future outside of the EU”. CAR makers have almost halved their investment in the UK amid mounting fears over Brexit chaos, worrying figures have revealed.
Less than £350million was earmarked for new models, equipment and plants in the first six months of this year – compared with nearly £650million at the same time in 2017.
The big drop, announced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, comes amid growing alarm at the lack of progress in the Government’s bungled Brexit talks.
The level of investment in the automotive sector, which employs 856,000 people in the UK, has slumped from £2.5billion in 2015, to £1.6billion in 2016, and £1.1billion last year.
The SMMT warned there was growing panic among companies about what will happen if the UK crashes out of the EU without a customs deal next March.
Up to 1,100 lorry loads of components for UK plants arrive from the EU each day, with any delays at ports proving hugely costly. SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said: “Brexit is holding us back and we don’t seem to be any closer to the certainty and stability we need.”
He added that job losses and halving investment are “the price we pay for slow decision making” over Brexit.
And Stephan Freismuth, of BMW, said: “If, at the end of the day, the supply chain will have to stop at the border, we cannot produce our products here.”
BMW employs 7,000 people in the UK, with a Mini plant in Oxford, Rollsroyce at Goodwood, West Sussex, an engine factory in Birmingham and a metal-pressing facility in Swindon.
Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-bailey said: “The Government has refused to listen to the cries from businesses and unions for clarity in their Brexit negotiations, and for a customs union to support jobs and industry.”