LIAM Fox has insisted Britain can maintain free trade with the European Union and control over immigration after Brexit despite fresh warnings that it would be "impossible".
The international trade secretary said trade with the EU could be "at least as free" as it was now, while former cabinet minister Oliver Letwin insisted Britain should "have its cake and eat it".
EU leaders have repeatedly insisted access to the free trade zone is dependent on allowing the free movement of EU citizens, seen as unpalatable by Prime Minister Theresa May and raising the prospect of a "hard Brexit" outwith the European single market.
Read more: Nicola Sturgeon is using Brexit process to "push for independence", says David Mundell
Dr Fox hinted the UK Government could be leaning towards such a move, saying Britain would become an independent member of the World Trade Organisation post-Brexit and comply with its tariffs and rules.
He said the UK would then work with the WTO on "taking an axe to red tape across borders,” adding: "The UK is a full and founding member of the WTO, though we have chosen to be represented by the EU in recent years.
"As we establish our independent position post-Brexit, we will carry the standard of free and open trade as a badge of honour."
But despite his suggestion of what is seen as a "hard Brexit", Dr Fox insisted it was in the interests of EU countries to offer the UK free and open trade after it leaves the union.
Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister and now the Liberal Democrats’ EU spokesman, described Dr Fox's speech as "delusional" and urged him to make public the economic impact of leaving the single market.
Read more: Nicola Sturgeon is using Brexit process to "push for independence", says David Mundell
For the SNP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh said: "Liam Fox’s ideological obsession with Brexit is blinding him to the facts. The problem is that the more he speaks the less we know about the UK Government’s detailed plans for our trading future with Europe.”
She added: "Leaving the European single market and customs union would be a blow to Scotland’s economy, and rather than freeing up businesses, as he suggests, it would increase the red tape required of Scotland’s exporters.”
Read more: Nicola Sturgeon is using Brexit process to "push for independence", says David Mundell
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel