Britain ready for a no-deal Brexit, Gove warns Barnier
BRITAIN is prepared to walk away from Brexit negotiations in March next year with no deal unless the European Union starts making concessions, Michael Gove said yesterday.
The Environment Secretary has informed Brussels that ministers have agreed to step up no-deal preparations if the EU remains “ungenerous and inflexible”. Defending the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan, which came in for fierce criticism from Tory Eurosceptics this weekend, Mr Gove said that Britain had shown flexibility and expected Brussels to reciprocate.
His words came in the wake of a backlash at the weekend over Mrs May’s Brexit plan, which was backed by ministers at Chequers on Friday. Brexiteers fear it has effectively killed off the possibility of free trade deals with the US and Australia. Plans for a “commonrule book”, which will also see the UK tied to EU rules on industrial goods and agricultural products, has also been interpreted in some quarters as a breach of her promise to take back control of British laws. The proposals, which Boris Johnson is said to have described as a “turd”, reignited talk of a leadership challenge. But hitting back at backbench colleagues yesterday, Mr Gove, who helped lead the Leave campaign two years ago, said Mrs May’s plan had struck a “perfect balance” between the need for close access to Europe while still allowing “80 per cent” of the economy to diverge.
He said the Chequers deal was not what he’d hoped for, but as a “realist”, it was the best possible proposal and it had the full backing of the Cabinet.
The European Commission is yet to give its verdict, but on the BBC’S Andrew Marr Show, Mr Gove sent a warning to Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator: “If the EU is ungenerous and inflexible, we may have to contemplate walking away without a deal.”
Mrs May expects a tense meeting with her MPS this evening when she attempts to gain their support for the Brexit deal amid growing rumours that disappointed Eurosceptics might begin to push for a leadership challenge.