Home UK Johnson robustly opposed PM’s Brexit plan – reports

Johnson robustly opposed PM’s Brexit plan – reports

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LONDON (Reuters) – Britains Boris Johnson strongly criticised Prime Minister Theresa Mays latest Brexit proposal in typically colourful terms before agreeing with his colleagues to back the compromise on Friday, reports said.

Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson arrives at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, July 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

The foreign minister, a leading supporter of a decisive break by Britain from the European Union, said Mays “business-friendly” plan was a “big turd” that would need to be “polished” in order to be sold to the public, the BBC said.

Johnson made his comments during eight hours of talks at Mays country residence that ended with the cabinet, including Johnson, signing up to the plan.

It was a hard-won victory. The Sunday Times said seven of the 27 ministers present spoke out against the plan.

Environment Minister Michael Gove, a key ally of Johnson in the EU referendum campaign in 2016, defended the plan on Sunday, saying it honoured Mays negotiating red lines and met the demands of business even if it did not match all the hopes of some anti-EU campaigners.

“I am a realist,” Gove told the BBC.

“One of the things about politics is that you mustnt, you shouldnt, make the perfect the enemy of the good. And one of the things about this compromise is that it unites the cabinet.”

Mays plan pushes for a free-trade area for goods and continued close ties with the EU.

Gove said it would give Britain autonomy from EU institutions and structures, while also having a free-trade agreement that would work in the interest of business.

“(In) all of the important areas where an independent country chooses to exercise sovereignty, Britain will be able to do so,” Gove said, adding the plan respected the referendum result.

But there were signs of a backlash among some lawmakers from Mays Conservative Party on Sunday including leading anti-EU campaigner Jacob Rees-Mogg, who said the proposal could be worse than Britain leaving the bloc with no deal.

Britain's Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove talks about the planned cabinet meeting, at the Prime Minister's official country residence Chequers later this week, on the BBC radio Today programme in London, Britain, July 4, 2018. Jeff Overs/BBC/Handout via REUTERS

“That is not something that this country voted for, it is not what the prime minister promised,” he told BBC radio.

Opposition Labour Party Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said Mays proposal had “fudge written all over it”.

He said the customs arrangements at the heart of the proposal were “unworkable” and a “bureaucratic nightmare that was not going to work”.

Starmer said Mays proposal had not met Labours demands for a comprehensive customs union and a single-market deal with shared institutions and regulations.

Labours opposition, combined with complaints from some of the Conservatives strongly anti-EU faction, means May faces a tough task in getting lawmakers to back a final deal agreed with the EU.

The compromise also is not certain to go down well in Brussels.

The EUs chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, welcomed the agreement on Friday but added on Twitter: “We will assess proposals to see if they are workable and realistic”.

Reporting by Paul Sandle and William Schomberg; Editing by Dale Hudson

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