Carwyn accuses PM of ‘lack of respect’ over Article 50 letter
WALES’ First Minister has spoken of his frustration that he didn’t see the Article 50 letter beforehand.
In a statement to AMs yesterday, Carwyn Jones said he had only discussed the letter in general terms with the Prime Minister.
He said: “I should be clear, though, that I did not see the letter before today and we were not invited to contribute to its drafting. This is unacceptable and is the culmination of a deeply frustrating process in which the devolved administrations have been persistently treated with a lack of respect.”
And he added: “I do not see how the Prime Minister can claim to negotiate on behalf of the whole country when she disregards the rights of this Welsh Government to speak up for the people of Wales.”
However, Mr Jones said he supported many of the ambitions set out in the letter.
He said: “In a letter to us today, the UK government says it has taken into account our six priorities in formulating its negotiating position, and despite the huge flaws in the internal UK negotiating process, I believe we can see evidence of this.
“There is common ground on the single market – we call for ‘full and unfettered access’ while they say ‘freest and most frictionless trade possible’.
“The UK wants to achieve this through a bespoke bi-lateral free trade agreement with the EU-27. We do not think this is the only way, or even necessarily the best way, but we recognise that this approach could, in principle, work.
“The Prime Minister’s letter recognises that WTO rules represent the default position for the UK in the absence of an agreement. I repeat what I have said many times: such an outcome would be a disaster for Wales and, I believe, for the UK as a whole.”
He concluded: “The first job of this government is to speak up for Wales, and we will do that with vigour and determination. We will not sulk from the sidelines but step up to the plate and do what we can to deliver the best possible outcome for our country.”