'Australia-style Brexit' is effectively no-deal, government admits

Cabinet minister Alok Sharma says difference is ‘semantics’

Lorries queue at Dover port (REUTERS)

The "Australia-style" Brexit deal trumpeted by the government is effectively a no-deal, a cabinet minister has admitted

Alok Sharma was unable to explain the difference between the two terms, and when pressed admitted it only came down to "semantics".

"You can use the phrase 'no-deal' but the point is that it is a deal," he told LBC radio on Monday morning.

"It's a question of semantics at the end of the day, sure"

Asked whether the government should stop using the term "Australia-style deal" because it would mislead the public, the business secretary said:

"I don't think we should stop saying Australia. People will understand quite clearly what that means.

"You can either go down a WTO route, otherwise you can go down the route of Canada which is what I want to get to."

Labour's shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said: "A 'No Deal' might just be semantics for Alok Sharma, but it's not semantics for the manufacturers, farmers and many businesses across the country who have been clear that it could have serious economic consequences for them.

"The government is trying to pull the wool over people's eyes to pretend No Deal doesn't mean No Deal. The Business Secretary should be listening to businesses and pulling out all the stops to deliver the deal Ministers promised was oven ready, not dismissing their concerns."

The admission comes as Brexit trade talks hit an impasse over the issues including fishing access and state aid rules.

Chief negotiators Michel Barnier and David Frost are expected to speak later on Monday to discuss next steps, but an EU-proposed round of formal trade negotiations is not yet taking place.

Downing Street said on Friday that negotiations were "over" after a deadline set by Boris Johnson passed without any agreement.

But cabinet office minister Michael Gove on Sunday revealed the announcement for a negotiating feint, telling the BBC the door was in fact "still ajar" if the EU moved in key areas.

EU leaders warned after a discussion on Thursday night that it would be for the UK to make the necessary moves, though others, such as Angela Merkel, have hinted that the bloc would be willing to make compromises of its own.

If no trade deal is agreed with the EU and implemented before the end of the year, the UK will leave the single market and customs union and begin to trade on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms.

UK businesses would have to pay high tariffs on goods and abide by restrictive quotas. Economics this it would cause serious economic disruption in both the short and long term.

The arrangement is a default state of affairs and does not require the agreement of either side.