MP voices fears on fire vehicles

THERESA MAY and Boris Johnson are heading for a showdown over the Government’s plans for Brexit, with reports that the Foreign Secretary is prepared to resign if Friday’s set-piece speech fails to reflect his vision of a clean break.

The Prime Minister is expected to hold a special meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday to finalise the details of a speech that is being trailed as the most significant intervention on Brexit since her Lancaster House address.

There has been speculation that this could see Mrs May express support for a “Swiss-style” arrangement with the EU which would see Britain pay for single market access.

But the Foreign Secretary is understood to be pushing for a harder approach, drawing a personal red line on the issue of future payments.

Signs of fresh divisions in the Cabinet began to emerge over the weekend following an article in the in which Mr Johnson put forward proposals for a post-Brexit trade deal similar to that being negotiated between Canada and the EU.

He argued that under such an arrangement the UK would “not expect to pay for access” to EU market, allowing the country to “take back control of our cash, and our borders, and our laws”,

His use of the controversial “£350m a week” figure from the referendum campaign – and subsequent suggestion that this could be used to fund the NHS – sparked a row with the head of the UK Statistic Authority who criticised the Foreign Secretary for “a clear misuse” of official figures.

But it was also seen as a fresh attempt to undermine Theresa May’s leadership, prompting calls for him to be sacked .

Mrs May and Mr Johnson were reportedly due to meet yesterday as they attended a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This is ahead of special meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday to discuss the Prime Minister’s major Brexit speech in Florence on Friday.

Quizzed by journalists in the US about whether he had any plans to resign, the Foreign Secretary dismissed the suggestion, describing the Cabinet as “a nest of singing birds”.

However, sources quoted in the claim Mr Johnson is prepared to quit the Government if Friday’s speech commits Britain to pursuing a deal that mimics Switzerland’s associate membership of the European Economic Area.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman later announced that there were no official plans for Mrs May and Mr Johnson to meet while in the US.

But they went on to stress that the Prime Minister continues to have confidence in the Foreign Secretary, and expects him to still be a member of the Cabinet at the weekend.

The former Foreign Secretary Lord Hague also intervened in the Brexit row yesterday, as he urged Mrs May to use her speech to bring the party back together. He warned that a failure to unite the Cabinet would pave the way for Jeremy Corbyn to enter Downing Street.

“It is now 15 months since the referendum, and high time that all members of the Government were able to express themselves on this subject in the same way as each other, putting forward the same points, as part of an agreed plan,” he wrote.

“If not, there will be no point Conservatives discussing who is going to be the Foreign Secretary, Chancellor or Prime Minister in the coming years, because Jeremy Corbyn will be Prime Minister.”

In a rebuke to Mr Johnson, he went on to suggest that “longstanding Leave supporters” need to recognise the benefits of “paying the price to get a smooth exit”.

“In return, the long time Remainers should be upbeat about the future,” he added. THIRSK AND Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake has voiced fears lives could be lost as a result of changes in the vehicles used by North Yorkshire firefighters.

Mr Hollinrake expressed concern at the decision to replace some standard fire engines with smaller ‘tactical response vehicles’.

The MP said the trial of the vehicles was “dangerous”.

Mr Hollinrake said: “There is nothing wrong with the appliances themselves, but TRVs only accommodate two or three officers and four officers need to be present to enter a burning building.

“These TRVs will be the first response to a serious fire.

“If the firemen can’t enter the building straight away, lives could be lost.”

Mr Hollinrake argued there should be four fighters on every fire service vehicle.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has insisted the number of on-call firefighters will remain the same. It says the new vehicles are designed to deal with smaller incidents by itself and have the same response time as standard fire engines.