Johnson and Fox ‘out of loop’ on EU migrants
BORIS JOHNSON and Liam Fox appear to have been “kept in the dark” about an announcement that European Union citizens will be allowed to continue to come to the UK after Brexit, amid a growing Cabinet row.
Last week, Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, unveiled plans that suggest the existing immigration regime will remain largely unchanged during a transitional period of up to three years after Brexit.
Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, subsequently said on Friday that there would be a “business as usual” period before new rules on migration and trade were gradually introduced.
Ms Rudd and Mr Hammond, who both backed the Remain campaign during the EU referendum, made the announcements while Dr Fox and Mr Johnson, leading figures in the Leave campaign, were abroad.
In an interview, Dr Fox, the International Trade Secretary, denied that the Cabinet had reached a consensus that unregulated free movement of people would continue for up to three years after Brexit.
He told The Sunday Times: “If there have been discussions on that, I have not been party to them. I have not been involved in any discussion on that, nor have I signified my agreement to anything like that.”
In a comment aimed at Mr Hammond, he added that continuing to allow “unregulated” free movement of EU migrants “would seem to me not to keep faith with that decision”. Mr Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, has also yet to give his public support to Mr Hammond’s plans for a threeyear transition period after Brexit. During a trip to Australia last week, he said he was unaware Ms Rudd had announced a major report about the costs and benefits of EU migration.
Last night, Sir Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat leader, claimed that Mr Johnson was on the verge of quitting over Mr Hammond’s plans for a lengthy transition deal.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson denied the claim. He said: “Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond are working
‘I have not been involved in any discussion on that, nor have I signified my agreement to anything like that’
closely to take the UK out of the EU and are not going to be diverted from that important task. Vince Cable is making this stuff up and maybe he should take more time to think up some policies rather than wasting his time on peddling lies.”
Sir Vince retorted: “It is bold of Boris Johnson to accuse others of lying. How is he getting along with finding that £350 million a week extra he promised the NHS?”
David Jones, a former Brexit minister, said: “They [Mr Johnson and Dr Fox] are clearly being kept out of the loop. We have senior ministers now putting forward in public what appears to be a negotiating position that should be done behind
closed doors. It shouldn’t be flagged up in advance. It is at the least disrespectful, at the worst it looks as if someone is trying to bounce the Government into a position that not all senior members of the Government are happy with.”
A Government source claimed both Mr Johnson and Dr Fox were aware of the plans for the transition period.
In a sign of deepening animosity, Mr Hammond’s allies accused Mr Fox of living in “fantasy land” after he said continued free movement would “not keep faith” with the vote to leave the EU.
Allies of Mr Hammond were furious with the intervention amid mounting Cabinet tensions. One minister told The Telegraph: “Hammond is on top of his argument. Fox, Gove and Johnson are in fantasy land, they don’t have a clue. They are taking ideological positions.” Another pro-european Tory minister who supports Mr Hammond’s position said: “Liam can’t bring himself to deal with the reality of what has been unleashed by the decision to leave the European Union. It’s empty rhetoric without a viable alternative.”
The minister said that Mr Hammond could act as a “kingmaker” for the next Conservative leader: “If he is seen as the wide steward of the nation’s finances he is going to be in a strong position. He could be in a position to be the king-maker.”
One Tory MP accused Mr Hammond and other members of the Cabinet of being on leadership manoeuvres. “Everyone is strutting around like chickens in a hen run. Look at me, look at me. They should shut up and transition to silence.”