Tories hit back at German ‘wise men’ telling Angela Merkel to stop Brexit
Rees-Mogg and Duncan Smith tell German's to start hammering out a free trade deal rather than hoping for a reversal
FURIOUS Tory MPs told Germany to stop meddling in UK affairs after Angela Merkel’s top economic advisers declared Brexit must be stopped - because it will harm our economy.
Germany’s Council of Economic Experts - nicknamed the “Wise Men of Germany” - urged the German Chancellor to persuade Britain to stay by hammering home the message that leaving would “hit the UK significantly harder than the rest of the EU”.
Its annual report said: “Due to the wide-ranging impact of a UK exit from the EU, the council continues to urge that it be prevented.”
It added: “The possibility of the UK staying in the EU can’t be completely excluded.”
The comments from the German economists, who advise Mrs Merkel, sparked an angry backlash from Tory MPs.
Jacob Rees-Mogg shot back: “Their interest is that of the German economy, not ours. Their faux concern merely shows how worried they are about the opportunities Brexit brings. They are only wise in their own conceits."
And ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said they should be focusing their efforts on a future UK-EU trade deal instead of trying to block Brexit.
He said: “Surely their remit is to advise Mrs Merkel on German economic policy and their real reason for calling for Brexit to be stopped is not about the UK But because they worry Brexit will hit Germany hard as we are the 2nd largest export market for goods. Instead they should be telling her to get on with setting free trade trade arrangements with the UK to have stop damage to the German economy.”
