Reverse Fox

I noted with interest Tory trade secretary, Li am Fox, warning that a no-deal Brexit was now more likely than the UK getting an agreement with the EU.

Quite bizarrely, this appears to be the same Liam Fox who little more than a year ago said that a post-brexit free trade with the EU should be the “easiest in human history” to achieve.

Of course, according to Mr Fox, this no-deal Brexit is due to the ‘intransigence’ of Brussels. Quite a common strategy to use, it must be said. If you can not get what you want, blame the other side.

However, the ‘facilitated customs arrangement’ being promoted by the UK Government is a non-starter. The EU simply cannot allow a country that isn’t a member of the customs union to collect duties.

Likewise, the UK simply can not cherry-pick what regulatory aspects of the EU it wants to remain aligned with and which it doesn’t.

The EU has made clear at the outset what its ‘red lines’ are and it cannot be seen to be doing anything that threatens the integrity of the single market and customs union.

Mr Fox is guilty of looking to deflect blame, pure and simple, turning his fire on Brussels when the European Commission made its position clear from the very beginning.

ALEX ORR Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh