Former chief of staff, Theresa May, blamed the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, of a “brazen neck” after he said the UK government “blinked first” in the negotiations.
Gavin Barwell, a key member of the former prime minister’s negotiating team, said Boris Johnson withdrawal agreement was “95% the work of his predecessors” and the deal was only secured by concession to EU requirements for some customs checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, which May’s team did not agree to.
Lord Frost, who will hold another round of talks in London this week with Michel Barnier of the EU, told the Mail on Sunday that the UK will leave in December at the end of the transition.whatever happens“And I would not agree to be a” client state “.
Informal talks between the couple did not lead to a breakthrough in what one EU diplomat called “a wasted summer.”
Barwell was outraged by Frost’s comments in an interview in which he said: “We came in after the government and the negotiating team blinked and bluffed at critical times, and the EU learned not to take our words seriously.
“So a lot of what we’re trying to do this year is to make them understand that we mean what we say and that they need to take our position seriously.”
Barwell tweeted what actually blinked Johnson’s team, including Frost. “Given the Exit Agreement and Political Declaration that David Frost negotiated last fall, 95% were the work of his predecessors – and 5% that were new were related to meeting a key EU requirement (for some customs processes when goods move from the UK in NI) – this quote is a brass neck, he said.
Two key differences remain between the UK and the EU: fishing rights and government aid, and the level of taxpayer support the government can provide to UK businesses. Speaking Sunday, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said the deal was “ready.”
“I think this week is an important moment for the EU to really effectively recognize that these two principles are not something we can just bargain about – they are the very reason why we are leaving the EU – but we want positive relations and the hand of friendship and goodwill is extended, ”he said. “The EU has to decide if they want to reciprocate.”
In his Sunday interview, Frost ruled out the possibility of accepting a level playing field that “limits us in accordance with the EU’s course of action.” He said Downing Street had set up a “transition node” led by a cabinet minister. Michael Gove to prepare for a no-deal Brexit from January 2021 in what government officials have called the “Australian deal.”
“It is obvious that a lot of preparation was done last year. We are gaining momentum again and have been ruled by Michael Gove for a while, ”said Frost.
“I don’t think we’re afraid of that at all. We want to regain the power to control our borders, and this is the most important thing. If we can reach an agreement to regulate trade like in Canada, great. If we cannot, it will be a trade agreement similar to the Australian one, and we are fully prepared for that. ”
