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Tory grandees' fury over Johnson's 'nationalist' no-deal Brexit (Guardian)
Guardian
Sat 12 Dec 2020 19.02 EST
As fears grow of threat of chaos in new year, Lord Heseltine brands potential failure to strike deal ‘the worst decision of our times’
Boris Johnson faced a rising tide of anger from senior Tories and business leaders last night as he appeared ready to embrace a no-deal Brexit and prepared Royal Navy gunboats to defend UK fishing waters.
With the prime minister and the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, due to decide on Sunday whether to halt stalled talks and make the momentous decision to accept no deal – an outcome that would lead to tariffs and quotas on UK-EU trade and rising prices – Johnson’s handling of the final stage of negotiations has caused astonishment in his own party, and the EU.
Fearing the disastrous effects of no deal, former cabinet ministers called for talks to resume despite Sunday’s “final deadline”, to make sure 2021 does not begin against a backdrop of twin crises caused by the pandemic and Brexit.
Tobias Ellwood, Tory chairman of the defence select committee, also expressed outrage at government-inspired headlines about plans to use gunboats to patrol fishing waters – confirmed by the Ministry of Defence – saying they were “absolutely irresponsible” and damaging to the UK’s reputation abroad.
Damian Green, a former cabinet minister, led calls from Tory remainers for talks to last as long as is needed to reach a deal. “Every rational person in Britain and Europe knows a deal would be better all round, so I still cling to the hope that reason will win the day,” he said.
With the prime minister and the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, due to decide on Sunday whether to halt stalled talks and make the momentous decision to accept no deal – an outcome that would lead to tariffs and quotas on UK-EU trade and rising prices – Johnson’s handling of the final stage of negotiations has caused astonishment in his own party, and the EU.
Fearing the disastrous effects of no deal, former cabinet ministers called for talks to resume despite Sunday’s “final deadline”, to make sure 2021 does not begin against a backdrop of twin crises caused by the pandemic and Brexit.
Tobias Ellwood, Tory chairman of the defence select committee, also expressed outrage at government-inspired headlines about plans to use gunboats to patrol fishing waters – confirmed by the Ministry of Defence – saying they were “absolutely irresponsible” and damaging to the UK’s reputation abroad.
Damian Green, a former cabinet minister, led calls from Tory remainers for talks to last as long as is needed to reach a deal. “Every rational person in Britain and Europe knows a deal would be better all round, so I still cling to the hope that reason will win the day,” he said.
Read more at link: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/13/tory-grandees-fury-over-johnsons-nationalist-no-deal-brexit
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