The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Johnson slapped down after Brexit intervention
PM’s spokesman rebukes former foreign secretary for lack of new ideas
Downing Street has delivered a stinging slapdown to former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, saying he has produced “no new ideas” on Brexit.
In a barely-veiled rebuff to Mr Johnson’s ambitions to become prime minister, Theresa May’s official spokesman said the country needed “serious leadership with a serious plan” which was being provided by the current premier.
He spoke after Mr Johnson used his newspaper column to attack Mrs May’s Brexit strategy, branding it a “fix” that can only lead to victory for the EU.
In what was seen by many as an opening salvo in his bid to out the prime minister Mr Johnson said the UK was “lying flat on the canvas” in withdrawal talks.
Britain has “gone into battle with the white flag fluttering over our leading tank” due to Mrs May’s Chequers proposals to align UK standards on goods to the EU, Mr Johnson said.
But Mrs May’s spokesman insisted the plans in the government’s Brexit White Paper were “the only credible and negotiable plan which has been put forward”.
The spokesman added: “Boris Johnson resigned over Chequers. There’s no new ideas in this article to respond to.
“What we need at this time is serious leadership with a serious plan and that’s exactly what the country has with this prime minister and this Brexit plan.”
In his column, Mr Johnson compared withdrawal negotiations between Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier to a rigged wrestling match.
“The fix is in,” said the former foreign secretary. “The whole thing is about as pre-ordained as a bout between Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy.”
He accused “some members” of the government of using the Irish border question to “stop a proper Brexit” and effectively keep Britain in the EU.
He said the real “scandal” was “not that we have failed, but that we have not even tried” on Brexit. “The UK has agreed to hand over £40 billion of taxpayers’ money for two-thirds of diddly squat.”
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said Tories should unite behind Mrs May’s blueprint, adding: “For those who think there is a different way then they need to properly set out what alternatives there might be.”
Mr Johnson’s intervention won the backing of leading Tory Brexiteers Steve Baker, who described it as “superb” and Owen Patterson, who said it offered a clear articulation of the “myths” surrounding the Irish border.
With Parliament returning from recess today, the PM is expected to face a co-ordinated effort from Tory hardline Brexiteers to abandon her exit agenda.
And the viability of the Chequers model was also coming under question in Brussels, with Mr Barnier telling a German newspaper he is “strongly opposed” to elements of the plan.
Mrs May’s proposals, which would see the UK remain in a free trade area for goods while ending freedom of movement, would involve “insane and unjustifiable bureaucracy”, said Mr Barnier.