War of words as Brexiteers fear customs partnership ‘disaster’

Prime Minister faces Brexit war cabinet showdown as senior Tories jump to defence of chief negotiator

BREXITEERS in the Cabinet will urge Theresa May not to rule out putting cameras and checkpoints on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic in a bid to avoid a “damaging” customs partnership deal with Brussels, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

Ministers will call on the Prime Minister to rethink the definition of a hard border and hold talks to determine what might be acceptable to make an alternative customs plan work after Brexit.

Cabinet sources fear the partnership plan, said to be favoured by Mrs May and Olly Robbins, her chief Brexit negotiator, would be an unworkable “disaster” and leave the UK without the ability to strike free trade deals.

It would involve the UK collecting tariffs on behalf of other EU nations and critics suspect it would fail, forcing Britain to fall back on the existing customs model.

Brexit-backing ministers will warn Mrs May not to leave the UK a hostage to fortune by blindly accepting that any border system in Ireland would be unworkable without looking at the options again. Later today, Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, will visit Northern Ireland ahead of key talks between the UK and EU on how a customs deal could work.

It comes amid a public war of words between allies of Mr Robbins and David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, who is reported to have called for him to be sacked over the weekend.

Politicians and officials on the British side clashed publicly over the comments yesterday, as ministers prepare to thrash out the UK’S position on the customs union in a crunch Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

The customs partnership will be one option on the table along with the socalled “max fac” – or maximum facilitation – solution, using technology to minimise the need for border checks.

But the Brexit Secretary reportedly told Mrs May to disregard the customs partnership plan favoured by Mr Robbins and urged her to listen to her own ministers instead, in what has been interpreted as an attempt to get him sacked. Mr Davis is said to have become frustrated at being “squeezed out” of his own department by Mr Robbins, according to reports.

His remarks prompted Julian Smith, the Chief Whip in charge of Conservative party discipline, to come to the defence of Mr Robbins and praise the civil service’s “world class” advice. In remarks that prompted fury among Brexit-backing ministers, he tweeted: “The UK Civil Service is helping to deliver Brexit. The quality of support/advice is world class. Attacking ind[ependent] civil servants is deeply unfair.”

Mr Smith’s comments were backed by Gavin Barwell, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, who was recently reported to have been involved in a showdown with Mr Davis over claims aides had “war-gamed” whether the Brexit Secretary would quit if the UK stayed in a customs union with the EU.

Meanwhile, in a rare public intervention, Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, then tweeted to thank Mr Barwell for his “support”.

“The Civil Service will always be true to its values – honesty, integrity, impartiality and objectivity,” he said.

Furious pro-brexit MPS and ministers interpreted the public show of support as a sign that Remain-backing Tories are closing ranks inside Number 10 in a bid to push ahead with the customs partnership plan.

One senior source told The Telegraph: “David Davis would be entirely right to call for Robbins to be sacked, he’s not a believer – none of them are.

“They see this whole thing as damage limitation – most of Number 10 have been captured.

“They just want to deliver any Brexit at all so they can say they haven’t failed – they don’t really believe in this at all.”

Sources close to Mr Davis denied he had called for Mr Robbins to be sacked, citing his remarks in a recent interview with The Daily Mail, in which the Brexit secretary said: “Olly is a fantastic civil servant. We talk weekly in terms of planning the negotiating strategy.

“He does the sort of first round. He’s the sherpa, he’s the PM’S sherpa and what do Sherpas do? They get you to base camp so you can make the assault on the summit. It’s fine.”

But Lord Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, who has advised Jeremy Corbyn, also came to Mr Robbins’s aid as he cautioned against a situation where civil servants are “put to the sword” by ministers.

The backlash over the reported attack on Mr Robbins highlighted the divisions within the Government over the thorny issue of the UK’S future customs deal with the EU. The partnership model is reportedly opposed by the leading Cabinet Brexiteers including Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and Michael Gove, who is said to have described it as “completely bonkers”.

Mrs May’s so-called Brexit war cabinet is due to meet on Wednesday when it will discuss the customs issue and the Irish border suggestions.

Ahead of the meeting Dr Fox will warn it is the Government’s “democratic duty” to make the case for free trade deals after Brexit.

The Trade Secretary will say in a speech today that it is more important than ever for ministers and MPS to explain why Britain must strike out on its own after the UK leaves the union.

Ladies of the House

Today marks 60 years since the Life Peerages Act 1958 received Royal Assent, which allowed women to sit in the House of Lords for the first time. More than 100 current female peers commemorated the occasion with a group photograph in the Lords Chamber to acknowledge the vital contribution women have made over the last 60 years. Female members from all parties took to the red benches, which until 1958 were filled almost exclusively with male hereditary peers. The Act allowed women and men to be created peers for life and have seats in the House of Lords, with the first such female peers taking their seats in October 1958. The Act opened the House to the whole of society, with members being appointed to contribute to parliamentary democracy based on their knowledge and experience, regardless of gender or background. According to current parliamentary data, there are 204 women in the House of Lords and 581 men, with women therefore making up 26 per cent of the House.