May faces fire from all sides in Brexit storm

Johnson ignites huge row as Tories hit by infighting

PRIME MINISTER Theresa May’s plans for Britain’s divorce from the European Union have today come under intense criticism from leading City and political figures as former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson found himself at the epicentre of the latest controversy surrounding Brexit.

Mr Johnson yesterday faced widespread condemnation over his claim that Mrs May’s Brexit strategy had put the UK in a “suicide vest” and handed the detonator to Brussels. Sir Alan Duncan, his former deputy at the Foreign Office, said the comments marked the “political end” of Mr Johnson, while Cabinet Ministers criticised the incendiary language.

With just 200 days remaining until Britain quits the EU, the prospect of a no-deal Brexit continues to spell acute economic uncertainty – with growth and investment held back, and businesses putting into motion drastic contingency plans that will affect thousands of workers.

Senior figures in both the City and the political spheres today rounded on the Conservatives over their “disastrous” handling of Brexit, warning that Britain risks ending up with the “worst of leave and the worst of remain”.

Roland Rudd, the founder of the public relations giant, Finsbury, who chairs the campaign group Open Britain, said: “The list of broken promises grows by the day and the risk of a disastrous no-deal Brexit is increasing all the time.”

Business lobby groups including the Institute of Directors also expressed concern that time is running out, with calls for urgent work to be done around protecting financial services. And the head of the CBI, Carolyn Fairbairn, said a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for businesses and company bosses were left frustrated by Tory infighting.

The Tories are still at loggerheads over the shape of postBrexit Britain in terms of trade, regulatory convergence and im- migration, with Mrs May’s socalled “Chequers” blueprint rubbished by several of her own MPs. London-based banks – including Goldman, JP Morgan and HSBC – have started contingency plans that will potentially diminish the City as a global financial centre.

Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who was highly critical of the EU during the country’s sovereign debt crisis, issued a stark warning, and said: “Brexit is the worst possible process. We currently have the worst of all worlds, the worst of leave and the worst of remain.

“We will end up with a postponement of decisions until 2021, it will be a typical fudge and the UK will continue making EU budget payments.”

Former Minister Steve Baker warned of a “catastrophic split” in the party. Mr Baker, who quit as a Brexit Minister over the Chequers deal in July, warned Mrs May faces “a massive problem” at the Conservative conference which starts on September 30.

The Cabinet Office declined to comment.