Theresa May’s deputy David Lidington tells Europe: Accept our Brexit deal or face no deal
Theresa May's deputy David Lidington has warned Europe to accept the Prime Minister's Brexit plan or run the risk of no deal.
In a speech to French business leaders this afternoon, Lidington, who effectively serves as May’s deputy alongside his role as Cabinet Office minister, warned it was too late to go back to the drawing board.
“With exactly seven months until the end of the Article 50 process and less than two months ahead of the October European council we face the choice between the pragmatic proposals we are discussing now with the European commission, or no deal,” he said.
Britain and France are at “a fork in the road”, Lidington added.
He stressed the “hard-fought compromise” made to reach the government’s current position – including the resignation of two cabinet ministers – and said “the alternative models do not meet the level of ambition or the outcome we all want to see delivered”.
The former Europe minister told the French equivalent of the CBI, Medef, that the UK understood fears that "we could lower our standards to gain a competitive advantage" but stressed they were "completely unfounded".
"Like France, we view economic growth, consumer and worker protection and sustainable development as going together hand in hand, not as trade-offs," he added.
Lidington's visit comes just a few weeks after Cabinet colleague Jeremy Hunt urged French and German politicians to back the UK, warning that the chances of a no deal were "increasing by the day" and stressing that May would not "blink".