David Davis warns talks over leaving EU could be “most complicated negotiation of all time”
Tory veteran says discussions must be kept secret up until Article 50 button is finally pushed
BREXIT TALKS with the EU could prove to be the “most complicated negotiation of all time” – Brexit Secretary David Davis warned last night.
And the Tory veteran told peers he would have to keep details about the Brexit strategy secret before Article 50 is triggered – formally launching the UK’s divorce.
“I don’t think it’s possible for parliamentarians to micro-manage the process and it wouldn’t give us an optimum outcome for the country,” he said.
In a sign of the difficulties already emerging, Mr Davis said lawyers had “given 180 degree opposite opinions on some things”.
And he said: “This is likely to be the most complicated negotiation in modern times, maybe the most complicated negotiation of all time.
“By comparison, Schleswig-Holstein [a 19th-century political conundrum] is an O-level question.”
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The comments came as the heads of some of the biggest employers in the country – including Japanese car giant Honda, Glaxo and Airbus – met for crunch talks with Chancellor Philip Hammond.
Just days after Trade Secretary Liam Fox attacked “fat and lazy” businesses, Mr Hammond insisted the Government would do “everything we can” to help them stay competitive.
The chief execs are understood to have lobbied for reassurance on everything from access to the single market to keeping common product standards with the rest of the EU.
After talks at 11 Downing Street, he said: “Britain has always been a great trading nation. We must do everything we can to help British businesses stay globally competitive as we prepare to thrive outside the EU.” The Chancellor met banks and insurers last week.