Philip Hammond reignites Cabinet war with Boris Johnson after contradicting his ‘have our cake and eat it’ Brexit motto
Chancellor told Radio 4 that Brexit does have 'consequences' and there will have to be compromises and 'give and take'
PHILIP Hammond reignited a Cabinet war with Boris Johnson yesterday by slapping him down for his tough talk to Brussels.
The Chancellor directly contradicted the Foreign Secretary on his famous “have our cake and eat it” motto about Brexit.
Saying the government now recognises there will be “consequences” for leaving the EU, Mr Hammond told Radio 4’s Today programme: “We have sent a clear signal to our European partners that we understand we can’t have our cake and eat it”.
He also struck a markedly different tone to Boris’s bravado on how the UK would be “perfectly OK” without any deal with the EU, instead saying: “We are going to get a deal, there has to be give and take on both sides”.
But friends of Leave campaign figurehead Boris hit back last night.
Mounting a dig at the Chancellor for his recent U-turn on National Insurance hikes, a friend of the Foreign Secretary said: “We shouldn’t be downbeat today and we can absolutely have the best deal.
“Hammond may decide to change his mind by next week on cake anyway.”