RUDD FACED
Fresh Cabinet rift emerges after Home Secretary Amber Rudd declared a ‘no deal’ Brexit was ‘unthinkable’
The Home Secretary insisted that she is still preparing for a no-deal scenario anyway
A FRESH Cabinet rift emerged last night after Home Secretary Amber Rudd declared a “no deal” Brexit was “unthinkable” just minutes after David Davis told MPs the threat was real.
And Trade boss Liam Fox said “leaving without a deal will not be the Armageddon some people predict.”
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The latest row came as EU countries claimed Theresa May’s big Florence speech has been sunk by bitter splits in her top team.
Last night the Prime Minister and Boris Johnson angrily hit back at claims the 27 other EU countries are “more unanimous” than the UK’s cabinet.
Speaking to MPs yesterday, Brexit boss David Davis warned: “The maintenance of the option of no deal is both for negotiating reasons and sensible security. Any Government doing its job properly will do that.”
He said Whitehall was “straining every sinew” to secure a deal but it was vital that in a negotiation you “have to have the right to walk away”.
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He added “if you don’t, you get a terrible deal”.
But asked about speculation the UK could quit the bloc in 2019 without a deal “of any form” the Home Secretary said “I think it is unthinkable that there would be no deal.”
Speaking about security matters, Ms Rudd added that a deal is “so much in their interests as well as in ours, their communities, their families, tourists interests to have something in place.”
She insisted: “We will make sure something between them and us to maintain our security.”
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Downing Street attempted to play down any difference between Ms Rudd and her Cabinet colleagues, but it came just hours after EU ministers had mocked the divided Government.
Finnish deputy foreign minister Samuli Virtanen blasted: “It seems at the moment that the EU27 are more unanimous than the UK.”
And a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel heaped blame on Boris Johnson for muddying Britain’s negotiating position, hinting Mrs May should sack him over “internal trouble in the Tories.”
Mrs Merkel’s CDU party chief Michael Fuchs claimed Mr Johnson is preventing Mrs May from making a more generous financial offer on the so called Brexit bill.
He hit out: “I know there are internal problems – whatever she is offering, Boris Johnson has said it is too much.”
But Mr Johnson hit back claiming the Cabinet is “united about a coherent policy, we made a generous offer.”
The Foreign Secretary added: “Everyone wants to make progress. That can only happen once our friends and partners get serious about these negotiations.”
Mrs May’s official spokesman said: “The Foreign Secretary, like all of his Cabinet colleagues, is signed up to Florence and precisely what the PM set out in the Florence speech and as I say, they are all working together to deliver Brexit.”
But Labour said that Brexit was being undone by the “self interested antics” of the Cabinet.
Shadow Brexit chief Sir Keir Starmer said “only fantasists and fanatics talk up no deal.”
Last night a group of Tory MPs wrote to Labour boss Jeremy Corbyn to accuse Labour of “betraying” Brexit negotiations by claiming they would sign up to any EU deal at any cost.
Boris Johnson branded Labour “supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies” after accusing them of failing to rule out paying a 100 billion Euro divorce bill.
The Foreign Secretary said he believes the Opposition would “readily fork out” the sum of money to the EU,
And he inisted there was a “ruthless and iron consistency” about his the Government’s approach to Brexit
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