Hammond the Brexit saboteur must go, top Tories demand
PHILIP Hammond faced calls to quit last night as Tory grandees accused him of trying to ‘sabotage’ Brexit with a dire warning about the consequences of failing to reach a deal.
The Chancellor’s gloomy prediction came shortly after his colleague Dominic Raab, the Brexit Secretary, tried to play down the risks of leaving the European Union without a trade agreement.
Mr Hammond’s intervention angered No10, which did not clear his analysis, and Brexiteers accused him of relaunching Project Fear while undermining the Government’s Brexit strategy.
In a letter released on Thursday, the Chancellor said a no-deal Brexit could hit growth of the country’s GDP by as much as 10 per cent and cost the economy £80billion in extra borrowing.
Hours earlier, Mr Raab struck a more upbeat tone when he unveiled the Government’s preparations for a no-deal exit. He suggested most consumers would not even notice the effects.
Last night Tory peer Lord Tebbit said: ‘Philip Hammond should either accept the result of the referendum, as the Government has, or he should go.
‘He is not accepting collective responsibility of the Government. This Government was elected on the promise it would honour the outcome of the referendum. It does not appear he accepts that.’
He added: ‘This letter is another page in the book of fear which has been proved false by events. There’s no reason to think this instalment will be any different.’
Former chancellor Lord Lawson added: ‘Philip Hammond has always been trying to sabotage Brexit and this is nothing new.
‘I’ve said before the Prime Minister would do well to move him to another job but I don’t think she is strong enough to do so.
‘This letter contains a totally absurd projection based on assessing the economy just on terms of trade and not other matters which are very significant. It’s not worth the paper it is written on. Philip Hammond has had an agenda and he is pursuing it.’
Tory MP Marcus Fysh also hinted that Mr Hammond should be sacked, tweeting: ‘Seems the Cabinet hasn’t yet bothered to sort out the Treasury’s substandard work.
‘This is proof it is nothing but scaremongering and it’s shocking the proponents are still in post.’
A Downing Street source said Mr Hammond’s analysis was ‘preliminary and very much a work in progress’, adding that No 10 ‘does not clear ministers’ correspondence with fellow MPs’.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Mr Hammond’s letter and its timing amounted to a Brexit ‘hand grenade’.
Tory MP Nadine Dorries said: ‘Philip Hammond will do anything in his power to stop Brexit.
‘The timing of his intervention and his undermining of Dominic Rabb, proves he is working against the wishes of 17.4million people who voted for Brexit. The fact that he is still Chancellor is probably an indication that No10 is not as committed to Brexit as they would like us to believe.’
Her colleague Simon Clarke told Radio 4’s World At One programme that Mr Hammond’s intervention had weakened the Government’s position.
He said: ‘The Government’s position is that no deal is not what is being worked towards and we want a good deal with the EU that is in everyone’s interests.
‘But equally, it cannot be a deal at any price and no deal remains a perfectly viable option. And here we have the Chancellor making it very clear that in his eyes it isn’t.
‘That is not a helpful intervention – it absolutely goes against the spirit of what the Government is trying to negotiate. It weakens our country’s position in these negotiations.’ He added: ‘I hope it is the last time we have this ridiculous game of constantly trying to scare the British people into backtracking on a decision we made two years ago.’
But Cabinet Office minister David Lidington defended the Chancellor, telling Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘This is provisional analysis that the Treasury published back in January and I think all Philip was doing was simply referring back to that in response to a senior MP.’
He said a no-deal Brexit was ‘not a desirable objective’.
The row came after World Trade Organisation director-general Roberto Azevedo said a no-deal Brexit would ‘not be the end of the world’, atlhough he warned that it would not be ‘a walk in the park either’.
WHAT was Philip Hammond playing at? For a few short hours on Thursday, the Government was having a rare good day on Brexit.
The first tranche of papers on preparations for no deal had been released and, thankfully, fears they would be full of scaremongering nonsense proved unfounded.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab made a thoughtful and measured speech. His ‘overriding priority’ was to secure a good deal with the EU and he was confident agreement could be found. But of course, he added, a responsible government has to plan for every eventuality.
For good measure, he gently urged Brussels officials to look beyond preserving their political project to the ‘lives and livelihoods’ of people in this country and on the continent. Then Mr Hammond claimed no deal could wipe 10 per cent off GDP over 15 years, and mean £80billion of extra borrowing.
Without bothering to consult No10, or indeed Mr Raab – who has every right to be furious – the Chancellor destroyed his Cabinet colleague’s careful work and put a bomb under fragile Tory unity.
But to what end, other than shoring up the dream of arch Europhiles?
The public have seen no end of dire Brexit warnings being exposed as bunkum and have no reason to suspect this is anything but more of the same.
Not for the first time, the Mail urges Mr Hammond to observe a period of silence, and let negotiators get on with the job.