Multi-nationals’ ‘siren voices’ could damage May in EU talks, warns Health Secretary
JEREMY HUNT yesterday accused Airbus of undermining Theresa May’s Brexit negotiating position with its threat to pull out of the UK.
The Health Secretary warned that multi-national companies’ criticism of the Government would damage the Prime Minister’s ability to strike a good deal with Brussels.
Tom Williams, the chief executive of Airbus, which has 14,000 staff in the UK, last week warned it could pull out in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
It was the latest in a series of public warnings by multi-national firms, with BMW and Siemens UK also petitioning the Government to pursue a soft Brexit with minimum disruption to business.
Mr Hunt, who voted to remain in the EU, told the BBC’S Andrew Marr Show yesterday that the comments made an undesirable “fudge” more likely. “We are at an absolutely critical moment in the discussions and what that means is that we need to get behind Theresa May to deliver the best possible Brexit – a clean Brexit,” he said. “We have to stand firm … ignore these siren voices.”
Dutch-based Airbus has denied that political pressure was a factor in the decision to speak out. But Lord Digby Jones, a former Labour minister and director general of the CBI, said he had no doubt that Germany and Brussels had exerted pressure on the company to “turn the screw”.
Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, said that companies should also be “making the case” to European governments that a bad deal would be harmful to their economies.