Brexit secretary Dominic Raab admitted that a no-deal Brexit would be disruptive and that the government could not guarantee that it would reach individual agreements to prevent such extra costs as the return of roaming charges.
“I think we need to be honest about this. In the event of a no-deal scenario, which is not what we want, we would face short-term risks and short-term disruption. But what we need to have in place, and what people would expect us to have in place, is a set of plans and proposals, and the readiness amongst our institutional capacity, the staff in government, to manage those risks, avoid them where possible, or mitigate them. And that’s what we’re confident now we have got,” he said.
The issue of a backstop to guarantee that there would be no hard Border in Ireland after Brexit is the greatest remaining obstacle in the way of Britain and the EU sealing a withdrawal agreement that would include a 20-month transition period during which nothing would immediately change. The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has sought to “de-dramatize” the backstop but Mr. Raab said the EU had not moved far enough towards Britain’s position that Northern Ireland should not be treated differently from the rest of the UK.
“If they meet the ambition, the pragmatism we’ve shown through our White Paper proposals then I’m confident we can get a good deal for this country, but also for the EU,” he said.
Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said the only reason the government was talking about a no-deal Brexit was that Conservative divisions over Europe prevented the prime minister from negotiating a good deal.
“With the clock ticking, ministers should drop the irresponsible rhetoric and start putting jobs and the economy first,” he said.
Source: The Irish Times