Brexit Secretary David Davis threatens to take billions in business from EU if it refuses Britain good exit deal
David Davis would slash tax and red tape to persuade hundreds of companies to relocate to the UK from their bases across Europe
DAVID Davis has threatened to take billions in business away from the EU if it refuses Britain a good EU exit deal.
The Brexit Secretary told a meeting of bankers this week that he is drawing up a hardball “alternative strategy” if the 27 other members try to punish Britain for leaving.
It involves slashing tax and red tape to persuade hundreds of companies to relocate to the UK from their bases across Europe.
A memo drawn up by a City of London Corporation official at the meeting was leaked yesterday.
It read: “Querying what might happen if there is a desire for a punishing or hard negotiation and settlement for the UK, Davis said they would then need to switch to his ‘alternative strategy’.
“(He) Opined that the EU Member States, such as France had ‘no faith’ in their economic models and ability to compete with an ‘Anglo-Saxon approach’.”
Mr Davis was also reported to have told the bankers that he is “not really interested” in pushing for a halfway house transitional arrangement with the EU after Brexit.
Firms have asked for it to avoid a cliff edge in trade.
But a transition deal “could be perceived as a delay to the process that is not something the Government can abide”, the note said.
RELATED STORIES
Mr Davis would however be ready to consider any request from the EU for one, adding: “I will be kind”.
The Brexit Secretary also suggested Britain could win a deal that got rid of most trade tariffs, as he revealed he was looking for a future trading relationship “somewhere in the middle of the models for Turkey, Switzerland and Norway”.
Mr Davis’s spokesman said the leaked memo did not “properly reflect” his views or Government policy.
The Brexit Secretary was “looking at all options” to deliver a smooth and orderly exit from the EU, said the spokesman.
It also emerged yesterday that the Government could face an extra £2.2billion bill to meet its pledge to match EU funding for research projects in the UK.
New figures from the Business Department revealed the amount of money awarded to universities, research groups and businesses through Brussels programmes.
He agreed to underwrite a total of £4.6bn of Brussels handouts that help the economy when Britain leaves the EU.
The guarantee includes vital university research grants, which professors had feared losing.