EU will shoot down ‘third way’ Brexit, Davis warns May in letter
DAVID DAVIS has written to the Prime Minister warning that her Brexit plan which will be presented to the Cabinet at Chequers tomorrow is unworkable.
The Daily Telegraph can disclose that the Brexit Secretary sent a letter yesterday setting out his opposition to Theresa May’s so-called “third way”, amid concerns the EU would reject it out of hand. In the last-ditch letter, Mr Davis said Mrs May’s compromise plan would fail because it was simply a customs partnership with some additional technological elements.
The letter expressed fears that the EU had already rejected the idea of allowing a third-party country – Britain after Brexit – to police its borders and that discussing such an option was a waste of time, sources said. Mr Davis is understood to be frustrated that Mrs May and her chief negotiator, Olly Robbins, are refusing to acknowledge the EU’S position, setting the UK up to fail. A source in the Brexit department said: “David Davis is working closely with the PM ahead of Chequers.” Mr Davis was not present at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, instead choosing to work on negotiation plans in his Whitehall office.
Mr Davis’ warning came as Britain’s largest car manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, warned its future in the UK is at risk if the country crashes out of the European Union with a bad Brexit deal.
Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, has played down claims that ministers could quit, but last month at least one member of the Government was reported to have written his resignation letter over the state of Brexit talks. Mr Davis and Boris Johnson are understood to have told friends they would not quit this weekend, but some MPS, including those in the Eurosceptic European Research Group, believe that a full walkout could be triggered if the UK’S exit from the EU is watered down.
Tomorrow the Prime Minister will present her Cabinet with the full Brexit White Paper – the UK’S official negotiating position – and attempt to get agreement before delivering it to Brussels. There are just six weeks of negotiating time left before the two sides have to strike a deal, and ministers fear Mrs May is preparing to compromise on key areas including customs and immigration in order to secure a favourable
trade deal. She is understood to be planning to publish the White Paper in full next Thursday, but the UK’S new immigration policy will not be made public until much later this year.
Mrs May has promised Brexiteers that her “third option” for customs arrangements will allow the UK to set its own tariffs and strike trade deals around the world, while maintaining frictionless trade with the EU.
Downing Street claims the plan – referred to as a facilitated customs arrangement – will also solve the problem of the Irish border by avoiding the need for new infrastructure.
But in the letter, which demonstrates how deep the Government split is, Mr Davis sets out his opposition to the “third way” and warns that the Four Freedoms of the EU, including freedom of movement, are indivisible from each other.
He is understood to harbour concerns that discussing the plan at Chequers tomorrow would delay progress because the EU would inevitably reject it – sending the UK side back to the drawing board.
Speaking about the “third way”, one EU source told The Telegraph last week: “We will shoot it down. It provides unfair advantage to British companies.”
Critics say the plan is simply a rebranded version of Mrs May’s New Customs Partnership plan, already rejected by Brexiteers in the Cabinet, and by Brussels, because it involves Britain collecting tariffs for the EU.
No 10 sources declined to comment on the letter.