Dominic Raab: We can get Brexit deal done by October

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44913982

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A deal with the EU can be reached by October but the UK is preparing for the possibility of no deal, the new Brexit secretary Dominic Raab has said.

He said he would return to Brussels for talks on Thursday and strain "every sinew" to get "the best deal".

But a responsible government puts plans in place in case talks do not end well, he told the BBC.

Labour's Rebecca Long-Bailey said a no deal scenario would be "catastrophic" for business.

"No deal should not be an option," she told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show.

Mr Raab told the programme he would be back in Brussels this week for negotiations and if the "energy, ambition and pragmatism" the UK brought to negotiations was reciprocated, a deal would be done in October. He noted that 80% of the withdrawal agreement was already settled.

And he said it was "useful" that EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier had raised questions about the prime minister's blueprint for the UK's future trading relationship with the EU.

"Actually the fact Michel Barnier is not blowing it out of the water but asking questions is a good, positive sign - that's what we negotiate on."

But he said preparations such as hiring extra border staff were being made because "any responsible government" would make sure plans were in place "in the event of negotiations not reaching a positive outcome".

The UK had to be prepared "whether it's the allocation of money, preparation of our treaty relations, we are hiring extra border staff and I think people need to know that we ready so that Britain can thrive, whatever happens," he said.

Technical notices would be released for businesses and citizens affected during the summer to be "very clear about what they should do and what we are doing on their behalf" he added.

Asked about European Commission comments that there were no specific arrangements in place for UK citizens living on the continent, or for EU migrants in Britain, in the event of no deal, Mr Raab said: "Well, I think that's a rather irresponsible thing to be coming from the other side.

"We ought to be trying to reassure citizens on the continent and also here. There is obviously an attempt to try and ramp-up the pressure."

'Absolutely catastrophic'

He added that the prospect of people being removed from the UK, or the government not moving swiftly to secure their position was "far-fetched and fanciful" and said it would be "frankly irrational" for the EU to go for the "worst case scenario" of no deal.

But he insisted the government would "have the planning in place" so the UK could thrive whatever the outcome.

However Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said amendments in the Commons last week as the government battled to get its Trade Bill voted through had "undermined" the government's White Paper and suggested the government's position was a "shambles".

"A 'no deal' would be absolutely catastrophic for industry," she said.

"We have to make work very hard across all parties in Parliament to make sure that is not an option."

The UK is due to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019, but the two sides have yet to agree how trade will work between the UK and the EU afterwards.

Theresa May hopes the government's plan, detailed in the Brexit White Paper, will allow the two sides to reach a deal on relations by the autumn.

Earlier Mr Raab suggested to the Sunday Telegraph that he was still persuading other cabinet ministers that the government's "pragmatic" strategy for leaving the EU was the "best plan" and that the UK could refuse to pay its so-called divorce bill, a payment from the UK to the EU estimated to be about £39bn, if it does not get a trade deal.

'Additional burdens'

Theresa May's proposal for a future trade relationship with the EU sparked two cabinet resignations, including Mr Raab's predecessor David Davis.

The White Paper proposes close ties in some areas, such as the trade in goods, but will end free movement and the jurisdiction of the European Court, and allow the UK to strike trade deals with other nations.

Critics at Westminster say it is an unworkable compromise which would leave the UK being governed by the EU in many areas, but with no say in its rules.

And EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier questioned on Friday whether UK plans for a common rulebook for goods and agri-foods were practical and said the EU would not run the risk of weakening its single market.

"That is our main asset. There's no justification for us to create additional burdens on business just because the UK wants to leave," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Davis, whose resignation from Mrs May's top team was followed by that of former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, told the Sunday Express the government should "start again" on withdrawal plans.