Top Brexiteers’ fury over EU exit strategy
SENIOR Brexiteers have condemned the Government’s approach to taking Britain out of the EU.
Leave supporters fear Brussels will secure lasting influence over the UK and wreck the dream of freedom from Europe.
There is also concern the UK could remain entangled in EU defence programmes once the Brexit transition phase is over at the end of the year.
It comes with the next round of Brexit talks starting in Brussels this week.
DUP MP Sammy Wilson wants the British negotiating team led by David Frost to force major changes to the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.
He warned that it “leaves the EU with a firm grip on important areas of UK economic policy and law-making powers”.
Mr Wilson claims the Northern Ireland protocol which is designed to avoid the need for a hard border on the island “wrecks the Union” and “wrecks Brexit”. He described it as an EU “Trojan horse to get its bureaucrats, policies and the influence of the European Court of Justice into the very heart of UK governance”.
On the Conservatives Global website, he said: “We will never be a sovereign nation while this protocol is in place. As a unionist I am appalled at its impact on the integrity of the UK.
“It smashes the Act of Union which has the idea of a single UK market at its core. The EU hasn’t just got a foot in the door, it is still camped in the UK.”
Urging Mr Frost and his team to use their influence to get it scrapped, he said: “There will never be a better opportunity. The EU countries are on their knees because of the economic consequences of Covid-19.
“Its negotiating strategy is starting to fall apart as national interests become more important than an Eu-wide approach.
“David Frost appears to be
negotiator who actually a
believes in standing up for the UK interests, not appeasing the EU. The Government cannot be undermined by fifth columnists in Parliament any longer.”
Former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib is also appalled by the prospect of the Northern Ireland protocol coming into force, saying: “There is no example in history of a country voluntarily putting a border down its own middle with part of it being in another jurisdiction.”
Writing on the Brexit Watch website, he said: “Taking account of all that has gone before since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister it must now be a racing certainty that a fudged trade deal will be done with the EU that binds the rest of the UK into EU laws and other things besides. All that apparently
remains to be determined is the extent of the sell-out.”
John Longworth, a former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce who co-chaired the Leave Means Leave campaign, also slated Boris Johnson’s leadership of the country.
Mr Longworth, one of the most influential campaigners for Brexit, said the Prime Minister had become an “infringer” of civil liberties with “nanny state policies fit for a Marxist administration”.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “We’ve been clear that
the UK must retain its sovereign right to design our own rules, in our best interests, without the constraints of following EU rules.
“We now want a relationship with the EU which is based on friendly cooperation between sovereign equals.”
In relation to Mr Longworth’s claims she said: “In the face of unprecedented challenges, we have made huge progress in delivering on our promises.
“Our plan for jobs, building on existing £160billion support, will help protect and create jobs as we recover from the coronavirus pandemic.”
Meanwhile, the Centre for Brexit Policy expressed concern that the Government is still informing British companies about EU funding opportunities with projects including the European Defence Industrial Development Programme.
Edgar Miller, a senior adviser to the think-tank, said: “Encouraging companies to apply for EU funds is either extremely naive or it is evidence they are relinquishing control of Britain’s defence policy to the EU. ”
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The UK has full, sovereign control over its defence and intelligence services and will not be adopting EU defence policy. Our current priority is to ensure businesses are well-prepared for the end of the transition period.”
‘Not just a foot in door...eu is camped in UK’ ‘Disastrous to future security of Britain’