Threat of ‘no deal’ is real, Fox tells Macron

International Trade Secretary accuses EU of trying to punish Britain for audacity of voting to leave

BRITAIN is not “bluffing” when it warns that it is prepared to leave the EU without a trade deal, Liam Fox has said in a riposte to Emmanuel Macron. The International Trade Secretary said that Mr Macron, the French president, was “completely wrong” to suggest that the UK would not leave without a deal.

He accused EU “elites” of attempting to punish Britain for having the “audacity” to vote to leave the European Union, and suggested that leaving without a deal was “not exactly a nightmare scenario” that critics suggest.

His comments come after Mr Macron last week accused British ministers who say Britain could leave without a deal of being “secondary players” and spreading “false information”. He also suggested that the UK’S Brexit divorce could top €40 billion (£36 billion).

Dr Fox repeated his claim that an EU trade deal should be the “easiest in history” to conclude.

He told Peston on Sunday on ITV: “I don’t think [the negotiations] are difficult in terms of the trade law or the trade negotiations themselves. The difficulty is the politics.

“In other words, how much does the European Commission and the European elite want to punish Britain for having the audacity to use our legal rights to leave the European Union?”

Dr Fox also said he would rather swim away than be stuck on a desert island with a politician, despite the fact Theresa May put him at the top of her list for potential companions.

Reports in the German press last night said that Jean-claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, thought Mrs May had “begged” him for help during a private dinner last week, describing her as “despondent” and “tormented” with “rings under her eyes”.

Jacob Rees-mogg, the Conservative MP, said: “I think it’s what you would expect in a tricky negotiation, that one side would try to undermine the confidence of the other side.

“We could all think of rude names to call Jean-claude Juncker, but he should not be personal – it will sour the whole tone. It is much better to carry on in a spirit of co-operation.”

 British expats will be allowed to continue living in Spain even if the UK leaves the EU without striking a deal, the country’s foreign minister has said.

According to official figures, more than 300,000 Britons live in Spain, with a third aged 65 and over. Alfonso Dastis said his government would ensure that the lives of ordinary Britons in Spain were “not disrupted” in the event of a “no deal” Brexit.

Mr Dastis told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “Over 17 million Brits come to Spain every year and many of them live here or retire here and we want to keep it that way as much as possible.”