Gove fears Brussels will use threat of Irish border to hold UK hostage
MICHAEL GOVE is concerned the EU will use the Northern Ireland border issue to “hold us hostage” and keep the UK in the single market and customs union.
The Environment Secretary, speaking at a private dinner of Tory Eurosceptics, said that Britain may be unable to secure a customs deal with Brussels before it leaves the EU in March 2019.
He said he believed that the EU’S Irish border “backstop” could be used as a “Trojan Horse” during negotiations in the 21-month postbrexit transition period to keep Britain in the customs union indefinitely.
It came as Theresa May split up her warring Brexit sub-committee last night to work on her two proposals for a customs deal, with each working group mostly opposed to the option they are considering.
The Brexiteers Liam Fox, the Trade Secretary, and Mr Gove, along with Remainer David Lidington, a Cabinet Office minister, will analyse the “customs partnership”, which would see Britain collect duties for Brussels for goods arriving in the UK but intended for EU markets. This is Mrs May’s preferred option, but has been labelled “crazy” by Boris Johnson.
The option favoured by Eurosceptic MPS – the “maximum facilitation” model that proposes a “highly streamlined” arrangement using technology to minimise but not eliminate import checks – will be studied by Remainers Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, and Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland secretary, alongside David Davis, the Brexit Secretary.
A source told The Daily Telegraph Mr Gove was con- cerned that if Britain accepted the Irish border backstop option, “we won’t have all the negotiating cards we would want” during transition. Under the option, if the UK and Brussels fail to agree a bespoke customs deal Northern Ireland must remain in “full alignment” with the rules of the customs union and single market to avoid a hard border. The UK is in talks over the wording.
The Prime Minister has been clear that leaving the single market and customs union is a red line in her negotiations, but has yet to satisfy the EU she can reconcile these without imposing a hard border on Northern Ireland, or a goods border in the Irish Sea. Allies of Mr Gove suggested Britain could stay tied to the customs union for a period after Brexit but make a clean break later.
However, Jacob Reesmogg, leader of a group of around 60 Eurosceptic Tory MPS, described the idea yesterday as “dreadful”.
Last week the majority of Mrs May’s Brexit war cabinet rejected plans for a customs partnership amid fears it would lead to a climbdown over Brexit.