May ‘doesn’t see upside from Brexit’
THERESA May’s former chief of staff has claimed she regards Brexit as ‘damage limitation’.
Nick Timothy, who lost his job over the Tories’ disastrous election campaign of 2017, said she and many of her ministers ‘struggle to see any economic upside to Brexit’.
He told the BBC: ‘They see it as a damage limitation exercise. If you see it in that way inevitably you’re not going to be prepared to take the steps that would enable you to fully realise the economic opportunities of leaving.’
In a separate interview with Channel 4 News, Mr Timothy said the UK had made mistakes in Brexit negotiations, including by allowing the EU to determine the sequencing of talks.
He said the Government should have spent money earlier on preparing for a No Deal Brexit and should have been more ‘robust’ in pushing areas of UK advantage. ‘Some of it is to do with negotiating style,’ he said.