Theresa May should abandon Brexit trade deal talks if Brussels remains stubborn, say top Leave campaigners including Lord Lawson
- Theresa May has been encouraged to walk away if EU won't discuss a trade deal
- Leading Leavers including former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson made the calls
- They say delaying trade talks is causing ‘a highly damaging level of uncertainty’
Brexiteers including former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson (pictured) urged Mrs May to abandon the negotiations if there is no progress towards a deal
Theresa May should walk away from Brexit talks tomorrow if EU leaders refuse to discuss trade with Britain, leading Leave campaigners say today.
Brexiteers including former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson urged Mrs May to abandon the negotiations if there is no progress towards a deal.
In a letter released today they say the EU’s deliberate policy of delaying trade talks is causing ‘a highly damaging level of uncertainty’ for British business.
As such, the Prime Minister must issue an ultimatum at this week’s meeting of the European Council, which begins today.
If talks do not move on to trade, Mrs May should announce that Britain will move to World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms after March 30, 2019, and begin intense preparations for the ‘no deal’ Brexit.
The letter, organised by the Leave Means Leave pressure group, is signed by senior figures from politics, business, law and the military.
As well as Lord Lawson, who chaired the official Leave campaign, signatories include former Tory cabinet ministers Peter Lilley, John Redwood and Owen Paterson, Labour MPs Kate Hoey and Graham Stringer, economist Professor Patrick Minford, and JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin.
It came as former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith called on Mrs May to make preparations for leaving without a deal.
It came as former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith called on Mrs May to make preparations for leaving without a deal
He urged her to order Government departments to ‘make all arrangements’ for moving to WTO terms.
In an article for the Brexit Central news website, Mr Duncan Smith said the EU was dragging its feet to try and extract as much money as it can out of the UK.
And in a clear swipe at Chancellor Philip Hammond, he said Britain’s planning for a ‘no deal’ scenario must include spending money.
The letter to Mrs May, published as she travels to Brussels, says: ‘Following your ...speech in Florence, it has become increasingly clear that the European Commission is deliberately deferring discussions on the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU27 post-Brexit.
This is causing a highly damaging level of uncertainty for businesses.
‘The EU is taking this approach because they do not believe that the UK would be prepared to go to WTO rules for our trading relationship with them.
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The letter, organised by the Leave Means Leave pressure group, is signed by senior figures from politics, business, law and the military
‘If at the European Council this week, the EU continues to refuse to discuss the future framework for a trade relationship, we should formally declare that we are assuming that we will be subject to WTO rules from March 30, 2019.’
Such an announcement would provide business with ‘absolute certainty about the future’ – and if the EU then wanted to return to the negotiating table, that would be a ‘bonus’.
The letter adds that the public would welcome ‘such decisive action’ and ministers would be better focusing their efforts on ‘minimising disruptions’ from Brexit and seizing the economic opportunities.
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