CREEPING WITH THE ENEMY
Tory Chancellor is forced to apologise for insult about EU negotiators
PHILIP Hammond has had to apologise for an embarrassing gaffe after branding Brussels negotiators “the enemy”.
The Chancellor risked further souring relations between the UK and Brussels as he tried to prove his credentials with Tory hard Brexiters who are baying for his blood.
Hammond, a leading Cabinet Remainer and a vocal advocate for a soft Brexit, said the Tories should stop the infighting and focus on the other side of the Brexit table.
He said: “I understand passions are high but we all have the same agenda.
“The enemy, the opponents, are out there. They’re on the other side of the negotiating table. Those are the people we have to negotiate with to get the best deal for Britain.”
Hammond was blasted by Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell for “an inept approach”. He tweeted: “Insulting the EU is not the way to protect our economic interests.”
The Chancellor tweeted an apology shortly afterwards. He wrote: “I was making the point that we are united at home. I regret I used a poor choice of words.
“We will work with our friends and partners in the EU on a mutually beneficial Brexit deal.”
Hammond was speaking in Washington DC at the end of a week of Cabinet in-fighting.
On Wednesday, he infuriated Tory MPs pushing for a hard Brexit by saying money would be spent on preparing for a failure to reach a deal with the EU only at the last possible moment.
The blunder came as EU Commission president Jean Claude Juncker insisted Britain must “pay its bill” before Brexit talks could move on to trade. He warned the talks “will take longer than initially thought” because of Britain’s refusal to accept the EU’s divorce bill demands.
He also insisted he was not motivated by “revenge” for the result of the EU referendum and paid tribute to the UK for what it had done for Europe before, after and during WWII.
Juncker said: “I’m not in a revenge mood. I’m not hating the British. The Europeans have to be grateful for so many things Britain has brought to Europe before war, during war, after war. But they have to pay.”
His comments, in a speech in his native Luxembourg, come a day after Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said the failure to make progress on the size of the financial settlement was “very disturbing”.
A spokeswoman for PM Theresa May said: “We need to reach a settlement and we will honour our commitments we have made during our membership of the EU. The details are for negotiations.” British negotiatiors are looking for a glimmer of hope that after an important meeting of EU leaders next week, talks will move on to trade in December. The Juncker speech came as right-wing Tory Brexiters put more pressure on May to get the UK ready for a no-deal Brexit and to sack Hammond. Downing Street said May still had “full confidence” in Hammond. Ex-Tory chancellor Nigel Lawson called for Hammond to be sacked, saying he was “very close to sabotage”. But Hammond described accusations he is talking down the economy by saying that the Brexit process has created uncertainty as “bizarre” and “absurd”.