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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| UK public will blame EU for no-deal Brexit, says Jeremy Hunt | UK public will blame EU for no-deal Brexit, says Jeremy Hunt |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Britain’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has warned there is a risk of the UK leaving the EU in March 2019 without a deal because of stalling by the bloc’s negotiators, and that British views of Europe would sour as a result. | Britain’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has warned there is a risk of the UK leaving the EU in March 2019 without a deal because of stalling by the bloc’s negotiators, and that British views of Europe would sour as a result. |
| Speaking in Berlin on his first overseas trip since being appointed to the role earlier in July, Hunt told his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, that “there is now a very real threat of a Brexit no deal by accident, and this is because many people in the EU are thinking that they just have to wait long enough and Britain will blink”. | Speaking in Berlin on his first overseas trip since being appointed to the role earlier in July, Hunt told his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, that “there is now a very real threat of a Brexit no deal by accident, and this is because many people in the EU are thinking that they just have to wait long enough and Britain will blink”. |
| In comments directed over the head of Germany’s social democrat foreign minister towards Brussels, Hunt said: “Without a real change in approach from the EU negotiators we do now face a real risk of a no deal by accident, and that would be incredibly challenging economically. | In comments directed over the head of Germany’s social democrat foreign minister towards Brussels, Hunt said: “Without a real change in approach from the EU negotiators we do now face a real risk of a no deal by accident, and 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.” | “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.” |
| The foreign secretary later tweeted that the only person happy with a no-deal Brexit would be Russian president Vladimir Putin. | |
| Excellent discussion with German Foreign Minister @HeikoMaas about the unintended geopolitical consequences of No Deal. Only person rejoicing would be Putin... | |
| Visiting Berlin at a time when governments and businesses on both sides are scaling up preparations for a disorderly Brexit in March 2019, Hunt tried his best to praise the health of Anglo-German relations. | Visiting Berlin at a time when governments and businesses on both sides are scaling up preparations for a disorderly Brexit in March 2019, Hunt tried his best to praise the health of Anglo-German relations. |
| “Germany is not just one of Britain’s best friends in Europe, it’s one of our best friends in the world,” Hunt said at a press conference which contrasted with Boris Johnson’s frosty reception in Berlin in 2016. “Since 1945, Britain and Germany have stood shoulder to shoulder to support the rules-based international order.” | “Germany is not just one of Britain’s best friends in Europe, it’s one of our best friends in the world,” Hunt said at a press conference which contrasted with Boris Johnson’s frosty reception in Berlin in 2016. “Since 1945, Britain and Germany have stood shoulder to shoulder to support the rules-based international order.” |
| Maas, a former justice minister who moved to the foreign ministry in the spring, said the rest of Europe had to accept Britain’s will to leave the EU as a reality and work hard to achieve an exit deal. | Maas, a former justice minister who moved to the foreign ministry in the spring, said the rest of Europe had to accept Britain’s will to leave the EU as a reality and work hard to achieve an exit deal. |
| “We greatly regret the fact that Great Britain is leaving the European Union. But it’s a fact, and one that has to be accepted. The consequences will be noticeable on both sides of the Channel, which is why it’s very important that Britain and the European commission are currently talking about ways for an orderly exit to take place.” | “We greatly regret the fact that Great Britain is leaving the European Union. But it’s a fact, and one that has to be accepted. The consequences will be noticeable on both sides of the Channel, which is why it’s very important that Britain and the European commission are currently talking about ways for an orderly exit to take place.” |
| Asked whether Hunt’s threat of declining British-EU relations, or the Brexit secretary Dominic Raab’s threat of the UK not paying £39bn in outstanding bills if trade talks stalled, were the kind of good manners usually associated of the British, Maas replied: “At the recent Nato summit I took part in bilateral talks with [the Turkish president] Mr Erdoğan and Mr Trump, so good manners are always relative.” | |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| Article 50 | Article 50 |
| European Union | European Union |
| Europe | Europe |
| Foreign policy | Foreign policy |
| Germany | Germany |
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