Hague backs Hammond as Cabinet tensions mount

Former party leader says transitional deal will save Brexit from disaster

Philip Hammond has been backed by former Tory leader Lord Hague amid ongoing Cabinet tensions about the approach to Brexit.

Hague said the Chancellor deserves credit for pushing for a transitional deal that preserves close ties to Brussels, giving time for a new trading relationship to be established and avoiding turning Brexit into a “disaster”.

Mr Hammond insisted that Brexit would go ahead as planned and reiterated that the UK’s legal obligations with the EU will end on March 29 2019, including the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

But at a press conference in Brazil he acknowledged there was still a “debate” about the nature of a transitional deal.

He said the UK hopes talks on a postBrexit EU trade deal will begin this autumn, delivering a less than certain verdict compared with an earlier upbeat Government assessment from Brexit secretary David Davis’s department.

Reports last week suggested the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, believes the next phase of the Brexit process would be delayed by two months to December because of disagreements over how much the UK owes the bloc.

Lord Hague claimed Mr Hammond had been trying to persuade Cabinet colleagues that the UK should remain in the single market and customs union during the “implementation phase”, which could last until 2022.

In his Daily Telegraph column, he said: “This is seen by longstanding advocates of leaving as a ‘soft’ position or a climbdown, but in reality it is a plan to rescue Brexit from an approaching disaster.”

Number 10 has insisted the UK is not seeking an “off the shelf” model for the UK’s relationship after the official date of Brexit, but Lord Hague said something similar to membership of the European Economic Area would make negotiations much easier.

“The task of agreeing a special transitional regime as well as an eventual free trade agreement could be skipped,” he said.

The plan would also give time for new customs arrangements to be put in place, make it easier for businesses and would be easier to get through Parliament, Lord Hague said.

European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said: “There is a negotiation ongoing and there is already a lively enough debate in Britain and we will not contribute further to this liveliness from our side.”

Picture: PA. The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, supports negotiating a transitional deal that could keep Britain in the single market until 2022.