I WON’T ACCEPT A BREXIT DEAL ‘AT ANY COST’
THERESA May last night dramatically warned Brussels that Britain will not accept a Brexit deal “at any cost”.
In a curt riposte to EU claims of the two sides nearing agreement, the Prime Minister insisted she will not buckle as the negotiations reach their final phase.
She also signalled her readiness to walk away unless the deal returns control of laws, borders and money to the UK.
“I will not compromise on what people voted for in the referendum. This will not be an agreement at any cost,” she said.
Her salvo followed testy exchanges in the deadlocked negotiations yesterday.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier irritated Downing Street by suggesting a deal was ready to be presented to Cabinet ministers as early as this morning. But Mrs May rubbished his claim, suggesting his remarks should be taken with “a bucket of salt”.
The spat, after a round of talks in Brussels which dragged on until nearly 3am yesterday, appeared to have all but extinguished hopes of a special summit this month to rubber-stamp a Brexit deal.
Negotiators need to make further progress on the future of the Northern Ireland border by midnight tomorrow to stop the issue being pushed back until a December gathering of EU leaders.
With no sign of a thaw yesterday, Mrs May used her annual speech to the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in the City of London to sound a fresh warning.
The Prime Minister said: “I want them [the British people] to know that I will not compromise on what people voted for in the referendum. This will not be an agreement at any cost.
“Any deal must ensure we take back control of our laws, borders and money. It must secure the ability to strike new trade deals around the world. And it must also be a deal that protects jobs, our security and our precious Union.”
Mrs May said the “intensely difficult” negotiations “are not about me or my personal fortunes. They are about the national interest – and that means making what I believe to be the right choices, not the easy ones”.
The Cabinet will hold potentially fractious Brexit talks today, focused on the possibility of a walk-out and a future trade relationship with the EU based on World Trade Organisation rules.
It follows warnings from ministers that a post-Brexit deal leaving the UK closely tied to the EU after Brexit will be inaccessible.
International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, a leading Leave campaigner, said: “The important thing is that there are two checks on this deal – there is Cabinet and there is Parliament.
“Cabinet’s job is to put something to Parliament that is going to deliver on the referendum result.” Penny Mordaunt yesterday Her warning followed an appeal from former foreign secretary Boris Johnson for a Cabinet “mutiny” against Mrs May’s proposals. He said: “No member of the Government, let alone the Cabinet, could conceivably support them.” Mr Barnier told European diplomats yesterday that the deal was largely ready and needed only the backing of Mrs May’s Cabinet. But the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “I’ve talked about taking things with a pinch of salt before. I’d apply a bucket of salt to this one.” Meanwhile, former transport minister Jo Johnson said he quit Mrs May’s government over reports she was planning a publicity campaign which amounted to a “calculated deceit”. He said: “I challenge the Government to come clean on the cost of Brexit. The reason they can’t look us in the eye, it’s because they know this will leave us worse off and with less control. “It’s a gross abuse of civil service impartiality. “There is a sea-change in mood among my Conservative colleagues who are focused by this crisis. I would not be surprised if more colleagues in senior positions speak out.”