Ahead of crunch Cabinet showdown on Britain’s future trading relationship with the EU, the Environment Secretary said the Prime Minister’s favoured option has ‘significant question marks’ over it
THERESA May’s customs partnership plan appears all-but dead after Michael Gove joined Boris Johnson in savaging the proposal.
Ahead of a crunch Cabinet showdown on Britain’s future trading relationship with the EU on Tuesday, the Environment Secretary said the Prime Minister’s favoured option has “significant question marks” over it.
The leading Brexiteer said Mrs May’s system was “flawed” and would leave Britain acting as the EU’s “tax collector”.
But Mr Gove also admitted that the “maximum facilitation” proposal backed by him and other senior Brexiteers is far from perfect.
It comes after a plea by Theresa May for unity as she insisted she could be trusted to deliver the Brexit people voted for.
Her Cabinet is split over which of two customs models to back, with Mr Johnson sparking uproar after labelling Mrs May’s option "crazy".
Appearing on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Gove was pressed on what he thought of the Foreign Secretary’s comments.
He said: "Across Government, across Cabinet, there is agreement that neither of these two models is absolutely perfect.
"And with the new customs partnership, Boris pointed out that because it's novel, because no model like this exists, there have to be significant question marks over the deliverability of it on time."
Mr Gove added: "It's my view that the new customs partnership has flaws and they need to be tested."
It comes as Mrs May has set up two Cabinet groups to consider the customs options, but it appears she is moving towards the maximum facilitation option, known as "Max Fac".
It would rely on new technology and trusted trader schemes to get trade to flow smoothly with the EU after Brexit.
Writing in after weeks of Cabinet wrangling, Mrs May said: "You can trust me to deliver. I will not let you down."
Mrs May stressed the UK would be aligned with Brussels on some issues as there had to be "compromises" after withdrawal.
Also speaking this morning the Tory former leader Iain Duncan Smith said Torey rebels will “plunge a knife into the heart of government” by voting down the PM’s Brexit plans.
On the BBC he warned his party’s MPs not to vote to stay in the customs union, adding: "It was in the manifesto and all my colleagues stood on that. So this is a very big issue if they're deciding to break this.
"Because they do literally plunge a knife into the heart of government and particularly to the Prime Minister - because it is very much her fixed view, and that is what we stood on at the last election."
