UK still likely to leave the EU with a negotiated agreement, says Number 10

Monday, Aug 06 2018

A successful deal with the European Union remains the “most likely outcome” of ongoing Brexit talks, though there is a risk negotiations may fail, Downing Street has said. Theresa May’s official spokesman pointedly repeated the Prime Minister’s earlier warning that the UK’s European partners should not let ideology or bureaucracy get in the way of a “pragmatic and practical” outcome. Number 10 was responding to Liam Fox’s assessment that a no-deal Brexit is now more likely than an agreed withdrawal, with the International Trade Secretary putting the odds at “60-40”.

Former Brexit secretary David Davis has warned that the EU will be making a “massive miscalculation” if it thinks the UK is not ready to walk away from talks without a deal. Mr Davis – who spent months negotiating with Michel Barnier before quitting over Mrs May’s Chequers plan – insisted that EU member states had more to lose from a failure to reach an agreement than the UK.

He told the Daily Telegraph: “This has great scope for being a massive miscalculation on the part of the EU that could end up with no deal by accident. “It’s certainly not the intention of the EU to have a no-deal Brexit but they are misjudging us at the moment. The UK Parliament does not want no deal but it’s certainly not going to be pushed around by the European Parliament.”

UK still likely to leave the EU with a negotiated agreement, says Number 10

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