Shadow minister’s Labour Brexit attack
A shadow minister publicly described Labour’s Brexit policy as “b------s”, a recording revealed. Barry Gardiner, the shadow trade secretary, reportedly made the remarks at an event organised by a think tank last month. Meanwhile, a report by the Kantor Centre, based at Tel Aviv University, found that Jeremy Corbyn’s party is partly to blame for a rise in antisemitic attacks in the UK.
LABOUR shadow minister Barry Gardiner publicly described the party’s Brexit policy as “b------s”, a recording revealed yesterday.
Mr Gardiner, the shadow international trade secretary, reportedly made the remarks during a Q&A session. at an event organised by a think tank last month.
His comments were disclosed hours after the MP apologised for describing the Good Friday Agreement as a “shibboleth”, a Hebrew word which can mean outdated or no longer important.
Now a recording of his remarks, released by the BBC, has captured Mr Gardiner criticising the “six tests” policy, which was set out by Labour to determine whether it will support the final Brexit deal in a Commons vote.
The second test is “Does it deliver the ‘exact same benefits’ as we currently have as members of the single market and customs union?”
Mr Gardiner said: “Well let’s just take one test – the exact same benefits. B------s. Always has been b------s and it remains it. Our position should have been to say they [the Tories] have said they are going to secure the exact same benefits and we are going to hold them to that standard.”
Chris Leslie, the Labour MP and former shadow chancellor, said: “Barry Gardiner’s increasingly maverick behaviour must be embarrassing for his front-bench colleagues.
“Labour’s policy... is very clear: without the exact same benefits being on offer in any final Brexit deal, Labour would keep the option of staying in the EU on the table. It is time members of the shadow cabinet started speaking out for that and ended the sort of eccentric self-indulgence of the type shown by Barry Gardiner.”
Asked about Mr Gardiner’s statements about the six tests, Jeremy Corbyn said: “Barry Gardiner does not denounce our Brexit policies. We have had a conversation with him. It’s quite clear he does support our strategy of holding the Government to account on the tests that have been put forward.”
At the event, he suggested the Irish government had exacerbated concerns about the Irish border issue over Brexit because it has an “economic interest” to do so. “There are real economic reasons why people have played up the issue of the Irish border and the need to have the shibboleth of the Good Friday Agreement,” he said.
Mr Gardiner said he was “deeply sorry” that his remarks had led to a “misunderstanding”, adding: “The Good Friday Agreement is a vital and essential part of the relationship between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and has been central to the two decades of peace it has brought about.”