Davis: PM’s Chequers plan almost worse than being in EU

FORMER Brexit Secretary David Davis has branded Theresa May’s Chequers Brexit blueprint which triggered his Cabinet resignation as “actually almost worse than being in”.

Mr Davis said he would vote against the Prime Minister’s Chequers plan in any Commons showdown as International Trade Secretary Liam Fox took a swipe at Chancellor Philip Hammond’s no deal warnings.

Mr Davis also warned that Mrs May’s statement that she would not be “pushed into accepting compromises on the Chequers proposals that are not in our national interest” risked becoming “an incredible open sesame to all”.

He said: “No, I’d vote against it, it would be rather odd for me to resign over something and then vote for it when it came back.

“In my view, the Chequers proposal – it’s not a deal, we shouldn’t call it the Chequers deal, it’s the Chequers proposal – is actually almost worse than being in.

“We will be under the rule of the EU with respect to all of our manufactured goods and agrifoods – that’s a really serious concession. What about take back control, it doesn’t work?”

He added: “That actually leaves us in a position where they dictate our future rules without us having a say at all, so it’s a worse deal.”

Asked if Mrs May could stay on as Prime Minister if she could not get the Chequers plan through the House of Commons, the Haltemprice and Howden MP said: “Oh, yes.”

Mr Davis cited Tory MP Nick Boles’ concerns over Chequers, adding: “We’ve got to turn round with other alternatives.”

He also hinted at earlier tensions within the Government’s Brexit negotiating team, saying: “I was always the Brexit Secretary, the question is whether I controlled events, that’s another matter.”