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Boris Johnson launches extraordinary attack on Theresa May’s 'crazy' customs partnership proposal

Open challenge to the prime minister’s authority suggests Foreign Secretary will resign unless she abandons her plan

Tuesday 08 May 2018 09:10 BST

It is the first time Boris Johnson has gone public with his criticism of the customs plan (AFP/Getty)

Boris Johnson has attacked Theresa May’s plan for post-Brexit customs rules as “crazy”, blowing open the bitter split that threatens Cabinet walk-outs over the controversy.

The “customs partnership” idea - under which the UK would collect tariffs on behalf the EU - would prevent the country “taking back control” as voters were promised, the Foreign Secretary said.

The extraordinary open challenge to the prime minister’s authority suggests Mr Johnson will resign unless Ms May abandons the plan, in crucial talks over the next few weeks.

She has signalled she will press ahead, hoping to win the support of some softer Brexiteers in her inner Cabinet after asking Britain's top civil servants to craft amended proposals.

But Mr Johnson, speaking on a trip to Washington, said: “If you have the new customs partnership, you have a crazy system whereby you end up collecting the tariffs on behalf of the EU at the UK frontier.

“If the EU decides to impose punitive tariffs on something the UK wants to bring in cheaply, there’s nothing you can do.

“That’s not taking back control of your trade policy, it’s not taking back control of your laws, it’s not taking back control of your borders and it’s actually not taking back control of your money either, because tariffs would get paid centrally back to Brussels.”

Mr Johnson, speaking to the Daily Mail, added: “It’s totally untried and would make it very, very difficult to do free trade deals.”

It is the first time the Foreign Secretary has gone public with his criticism, putting out in the open a divide that saw the inner Cabinet split 6-5 against the customs partnership in a meeting last week.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

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1/8The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Post-Brexit immigration

workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns.

PA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Customs union

A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that “Brexit means Brexit” and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UK’s economic outlook become clearer.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Northern Ireland-Irish border

Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Party’s coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a “specific solution” would need to be found.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Transition period

Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs.

EPA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Rights of EU citizens living the UK

The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreement (with the EU)

Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreements (internationally)

The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period.

EPA

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Financial services

Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period.

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The outburst reflects anger that the plan remains alive, despite being opposed by a majority of the sub-committee meant to settle the issue.

Mr Johnson’s interview comes ahead of the full Cabinet meeting this morning, although talks on customs arrangements after Brexit have been shelved until next week.

The government has been accused of “negotiating with itself”, because both the customs partnership and an alternative plan – based on advanced tracking technology – have already been rejected by Brussels.

The EU believes neither would prevent the return of a hard border in Ireland and has set a deadline of a summit at the end of next month for the UK to come up with a solution.

If it fails, the prime minister will be required to sign up to the “backstop” of keeping Northern Ireland in the EU customs union and the single market for goods.

Meanwhile, the government is braced for further defeats in the House of Lords today on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill – including one that would kill off the government plan to write the exact time and date of Brexit into law.

Most attention will centre on a cross-party bid to keep Britain in the European Economic Area (EEA) and therefore the single market.

To the fury of pro-EU Labour MPs, Jeremy Corbyn is whipping his peers to vote against the amendment – guaranteeing a significant Labour rebellion.

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