Cabinet at war over ‘Project Fear mark two’

Business Secretary accused of sowing seeds of panic with Brexit speech to industry

THE Business Secretary was last night accused of participating in “Project Fear mark two” after he urged industry leaders to use their influence to help soften Brexit.

Greg Clark yesterday used a speech in London to praise the “business voice” that puts “evidence before ideology”, contrasting it with the “imagined worlds” and “speculation” of hardened Eurosceptics.

The Cabinet split emerged after Airbus warned that it could leave the UK if Britain exits the single market and customs union without a transition deal, putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk.

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, allegedly used a four-letter expletive to condemn pro-european interventions by business leaders over Brexit.

Yesterday, he declined to deny making the remark, admitting in the Commons that he might have “expressed scepticism about some of the views of those who profess to speak up for business”.

Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, said at the weekend that “threats” by businesses over Brexit were “completely inappropriate” and could weaken the Government’s hand as it tries to negotiate with Brussels.

In a speech to a summit of business leaders, Mr Clark said that the Government must put their concerns at the heart of Brexit.

He said: “In my experience the business voice puts evidence first before ideology... brings actual experience of trading, whether with Europe or the rest of the world.

“Not a theoretical view of what the world will be like. Not a speculation on how they might operate. The experi- ence of employing millions of men and women and helping them earn a good living, not a theoretical exercise in which you take decisions about the lives of people in imagined circumstances in imagined worlds.

“So the business voice seems to me to be the foundation to a successful effective negotiation.”

He said that it was his “responsibility” to obtain evidence and data about Brexit from business leaders and present it “unflinchingly” in Cabinet.

David Jones, a former Brexit minister, said: “Cabinet ministers should be informing business of what the Government is doing to ensure we get a good deal. This is ridiculous. You don’t take your lead from businesses, you set the policy and then inform the debate.

“What he is doing is communicating a sense of panic rather than a sense of reassurance. There is a risk he is unwittingly participating in Project Fear mark two, which is being orchestrated by Eu-based businesses.”

In a further breakdown of Cabinet discipline, Liz Truss, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, directly criticised the policies of Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, in a speech at the London School of Economics last night.

She criticised his ban on plastic straws and restrictions on “wood-burn- ing Goves – I mean stoves”, adding: “There’s enough hot air and smoke at the Environment Department already.”

The Cabinet splits will be thrashed out at a Chequers summit early next month. Ministers will agree on a Brexit White Paper, which will include the UK’S preferred post-brexit customs arrangement with the EU. Eurosceptic ministers had assumed that the meeting

would include only the Brexit war cabinet. However it will now be attended by the entire Cabinet, the majority of whom backed Remain during the EU referendum.

Mr Clark called on the Prime Minister to go further than a final Brexit deal which replicates the single market in goods, calling on her to include services in future arrangements.

Theresa May yesterday insisted that business leaders are being listened to. She said: “A Conservative government will always listen to your voice and back you every step of the way as you help grow our economy and create more good jobs.

“We have listened carefully to the voices of business throughout and your input has helped to shape our negotiating position.”

It came as the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which represents the car industry, said that investment had halved in the first six months of this year amid concerns about Brexit.

BMW warned that the cost of its cars could rise after Brexit, but insisted that it had no intention of moving its manufacturing operation outside the UK.

The Prime Minister also faced criticism yesterday from the CBI, Institute of Directors and Lord Heseltine, the former Tory Cabinet minister.

Carolyn Fairbairn, the head of the CBI group of business leaders, said: “Facts ignored today mean jobs lost tomorrow. It is firms who employ people, understand business risk and have the best insight into how the UK can grow. Their evidence is not inconvenient.”

A separate survey found that eight in 10 public-sector leaders in local government, housing, police and fire services and education believe that Brexit will be damaging for public services.