FAILURE by the UK Government to listen to experts on Brexit would be an act of “economic self-sabotage”, according to a leading academic.
Professor Anton Muscatelli, principal of the University of Glasgow, has urged UK ministers to put the advice and experience of experts at the centre of negotiations on exiting the European Union (EU).
The university will host a lecture by Lord John Kerr, former UK ambassador to the EU and author of Article 50 – the procedure for leaving the bloc – tomorrow.
Speaking before the event, Professor Muscatelli argued that input from figures such as Lord Kerr was needed more than ever before.
Former education secretary Michael Gove was widely criticised for saying people had had enough of experts during the EU referendum campaign.
Muscatelli said: “People like Lord Kerr have an outstanding wealth of skills and experience to draw on and it is crucial that they are not exiled to the sidelines in a quest for political or ideological purity as the UK develops its negotiating stance.
“Throughout the process of leaving the EU, the UK Government will be faced with a series of complex problems and competing demands. Failure to make use of all the expertise available would be an act of economic self-sabotage.”
The university principal said the UK Government should view the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on whether Prime Minister Theresa May has the authority to invoke Article 50 without the prior consent of Parliament as “an opportunity, rather than a challenge”.
If the court rules against the Government, ministers will have to prepare legislation and pass it through the Commons and the Lords before the end of March to stick to May’s Brexit timetable.
Muscatelli said: “Parliamentary scrutiny can only strengthen the UK’s Brexit case, and make it fit for purpose before going into what is set to be the toughest set of international negotiations the UK has faced in several generations.”
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