Brexit Secretary David Davis declares border control will not be on the negotiating table in EU talks
The minister said Government would not back down on issue as it would fly in the face of the referendum result
BRITAIN’S tough new immigration system will not be on the Brexit negotiating table, David Davis has declared.
Labour MPs and pro-Remain Tories are pressing the PM to allow in more new arrivals from Europe in exchange for better single market access.
But the Brexit Secretary’s comments establish a firm red line on free movement – hinted at by Theresa May four months ago.
It came in Mr Davis’s first evidence session yesterday with MPs on the powerful new Brexit committee, made up of a series of former Cabinet ministers.
He also revealed Britain’s plan for Brexit won’t be ready until soon before exit talks begin because ministers are still ploughing through a mountain of 57 different in-depth studies.
And despite the landmark referendum result and Mrs May’s repeated pledges to enforce it, some EU leaders have told the government they still don’t believe Britain really will leave.
Ministers have learned lessons from Switzerland’s troubled fight with the EU to keep its own border controls, Mr Davis said.
He told the committee: “Taking back control is quite an important issue.
“The Swiss thought they had control of their own migration via an emergency brake, which, when they tried to exercise it, they were unable to do.
“We have to pay respect to the outcome of the referendum – therefore it has to be clear control by this parliament.”
The PM’s official spokeswoman last night confirmed: “The UK Government will make decisions on migration.”
Mr Davis also angered MPs by ducking any pledge to publish a full ‘white paper” plan for the Brexit talks.
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And warning that the government’s intentions would not be published until February at the earliest, he added: “The policy work is still underway, there are quite a few decisions still to be made.
“We’ve are in the midst of carrying out 57 sectoral analyses, each of which has implications for individual parts of 85% of the economy.”
Mrs May has promised to trigger ‘Article 50’ exit talks by the end of March next year.
In a climb down to avoid a clash with Chancellor Philip Hammond, Mr Davis also said he was open to a halfway house transitional deal with the EU to avoid a cliff edge for businesses.
But his preferred to tie up a full Brexit agreement within the talks’ two year deadline, saying: “The British people want this done soon”.
A Lords committee today warns financial services firms may desert the City unless a transitional Brexit deal is secured early next year.
The cross-party group of peers said Britain’s financial sector must be offered a Brexit “bridge” to prevent companies pre-empting uncertainty and upping sticks to rival financial centres in New York, Dublin, Frankfurt or Paris.
