Liam Fox insists Britain will not be 'blackmailed' by Brussels into Brexit divorce bill
Liam Fox has insisted that Britain will not be "blackmailed" into agreeing on a Brexit divorce bill as the price for starting trade talks.
The International Trade Secretary said it was in the interests of both Britain and the EU to begin talks on the final Brexit deal straight away, after a week in which the two sides reached deadlock over the way forward.
David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, accused Brussels on Thursday of risking the welfare of millions of Europeans because of its dogmatic insistence on agreeing the size of the divorce bill before discussions can begin on a UK-EU trade deal.
There are now serious questions about whether talks on a trade deal will start in October, as originally planned.
Speaking in Japan at the end of a three-day trade mission, Dr Fox told ITV News: "We can't be blackmailed into paying a price on the first part. We think we should begin discussions on the final settlement because that's good for business, and it's good for the prosperity both of the British people and of the rest of the people of the European Union."
Dr Fox also backed Theresa May's decision to say she wanted to fight another election.
He told Sky News: “Well I think that we will look at the Prime Minister’s record. We had a vote share in the general election that was the highest since Margaret Thatcher’s landslide in 1983. That’s almost been overlooked in the analysis of the election. I think the Prime Minister continues to lead us with courage and conviction. And she certainly would have my continued support for as long as she wished to continue as leader.”
Mr Davis had demanded that the EU put “people above process” after a frustrating week was rounded off with an ill-tempered press conference between him and Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator.
He said on Thursday: “Our discussions this week have exposed yet again that the UK’s approach is substantially more flexible and pragmatic than that of the EU as it avoids unnecessary disruption for businesses and consumers.
“We urge the EU to be more imaginative and flexible in their approach to withdrawal on this point.”
Mr Barnier chided Britain for unrealistic expectations of single market access after Brexit, saying the UK demands appeared to suggest a “nostalgia” for an organisation it had decided to leave.
Brexit | What is the Brexit “divorce bill”?
“I wouldn’t confuse a belief in the free market for nostalgia,” Mr Davis shot back at Mr Barnier as the two men stood at the podium in the headquarters of the European Commission on Thursday.
Mr Barnier had said: “When I read some of the papers that David has sent me… I see a sort of nostalgia in the form of specific requests that would amount to enjoying the benefits of the single market without being part of it.
“Maybe there is no nostalgia but Brexit means Brexit and leaving the single market means leaving the single market.”
The EU is refusing to talk about the UK’s future relationship with Europe until it shows “sufficient progress” on the issues of money, citizens' rights and the Irish border, while the UK argues they cannot be solved without taking into account the future trading relationship.
Brexit negotiations | UK position papers
