JEREMY Hunt has told European leaders it will be their fault if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal. The comments from the Tory, who replaced Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary following the old Etonian’s resignation from government over Theresa May’s changing Brexit plan just last week, were described as “ironic” by the SNP.
While Hunt, who campaigned for a Remain vote, did say a no-deal exit would initially be “challenging”, he said he thought the UK would “thrive” in the long term and that it would be in Europe’s interests to change negotiation red lines.
A no-deal departure, he said, would damage relations between the UK and its allies and would mean Vladimir Putin was “the only person rejoicing”.
“Without a real change in approach from the EU negotiators, we do now face a real risk of ‘no deal’ by accident,” Hunt said during a visit to Berlin. “That would be incredibly challenging economically. Britain would find that challenging but in the end we would find a way not just to survive but to thrive economically.
“But my real concern is that it would change British public attitudes to Europe for a generation.
“It would lead to a fissure in relations which would be highly damaging for the great partnership that we have had for so many years, which has been so important in sustaining the international order.”
The SNP’s Stephen Gethins said Hunt’s first outing as Foreign Secretary was chaotic. Gethins said: “Going to Berlin to demand a ‘change in approach from the EU’ is beyond ironic from a UK Government whose position appears to be falling apart and changing every few days.
“Jeremy Hunt should stop lashing out at EU leaders, who are already deeply concerned by the UK’s unending Brexit shambles. Rather than lecturing the EU, the Tories need to get an urgent grip or a no deal will be the awful reality.’’
Hunt’s trip to Berlin for talks with his German counterpart marks the start of a frenetic round of diplomatic activity.
The Prime Minister is expected to hold talks with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and other EU leaders at the Salzburg Festival on Friday.
May’s de facto deputy, David Lidington is set to travel to Paris, while Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab will be in Brussels for talks on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the UK chairman of Amazon has reportedly told ministers that his firm predicts that a no deal will lead to “civil unrest” on the streets of Britain.
According to a newspaper, Doug Gurr told Raab, and other business leaders – including bosses from Barclays, Morrisons, Lloyd’s of London and Shell – that Amazon had in its contingency plan predicted civil unrest within two weeks of a hard Brexit.
In a statement released yesterday, the web giant said: “Like any business, we consider a wide range of scenarios in planning discussions so that we’re prepared to continue serving customers and small businesses who count on Amazon, even if those scenarios are very unlikely.
“This is not specific to any one issue – it’s the way we plan for any number of issues around the world”.
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