NO DEAL.. NO £39BN
Threat to EU over huge divorce bill
THE Brexit Secretary has said Britain could refuse to pay its £39billion divorce bill if the EU does not give us a trade deal.
Dominic Raab said under the Article 50 mechanism, there had to be “conditionality” between settling our exit payment and creating a new relationship with the bloc.
He said: “You can’t have one side fulfilling its side of the bargain and the other not.”
Mr Raab also dismissed reports that the Government is hoarding food in the event of a no-deal exit.
And he said he was still trying to persuade the Cabinet that Theresa May’s Chequers compromise is “the best plan to get the best deal”.
POSITIVE
He added: “The fact [EU chief negotiator] Michel Barnier is not blowing it out the water but asking questions is a positive sign.”
He spoke as former Brexit Secretary David Davis called for the PM to rip up her White Paper and start again. And Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg predicted we are now set to leave the EU without a deal.
Ex-PM John Major warned “the people who have least will end up being hurt most” by a no-deal Brexit.
In another no-deal scenario, food safety controls could be suspended at UK borders to avoid delays to perishable goods. EU countries might then respond by blocking UK exports due to it adopting a “cavalier” approach to safety standards.
The warning comes from a Food Research Collaboration document.