THERESA MAY has met Emmanuel Macron for talks on Brexit as the clock ticks down for a breakthrough in the process.
The Prime Minister visited the French President’s summer retreat, cutting short her own holiday in order to try to find support for her Brexit blueprint.
Her visit to the Fort de Bregancon followed fresh warnings about the economic impact of the failure to reach a deal on the UK’s departure from the European Union.
- Fidelma Cook: I fear dashing Macron is losing his way
Earlier, Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned the chances of a no-deal brexit were “uncomfortably high” and said crashing out the EU would be “highly undesirable”.
He said the prospect of the UK leaving Europe without any kind of deal on future trade and customs arrangements was “a relatively unlikely, but it is a possibility”.
The UK and Europe should do all things to avoid a no-deal scenario, he said.
It would mean “disruption to trade as we know it and therefore a disruption to the level of economic activity, higher prices for a period of time,” he said.
He saide: “I think the possibility of a no-deal is uncomfortably high at this point. It is highly undesirable. Parties should do all things to avoid it.”
However, he said the UK’s banks had been stress-tested to ensure they could withstand the shock of a no-deal if it did happen.
His remarks led to the pound falling sharply to just under $1.30. He was speaking the day after the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee raised interest rates to their highest level in nine years, from a base rate of 0.5 to 0.75 per cent.
- Fidelma Cook: I fear dashing Macron is losing his way
Mr Carney denied the move was designed to build some slack into the system in anticipation of Brexit, in case rates needed to be lowered again as an emergency measure.
Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the European Research Group of MPs, dismissed Mr Carney’s comments.
He said: “Mark Carney has long been the high priest of project fear whose reputation for inaccurate and politically motivated forecasting has damaged the reputation of the Bank of England.”
Mrs May cut short her break in the Italian Lakes a day early to attend the hastily-arranged talks with Mr Macron.
After the Brexit discussions, Mrs May and husband Philip joined Mr Macron and wife Brigitte for a five-course private dinner at the Mediterranean island hideaway near the navy port of Toulon.
- Fidelma Cook: I fear dashing Macron is losing his way
Perched almost 120ft above sea level, the fortress has been the official retreat of the president of France since 1968.
The leaders dined on tomatoes and saffron flavoured langoustines; thyme-flavoured sea bass; chicken with vegetables; cheese and finished with a choice of dark chocolate creme brulee or fruit.
In a sign of the intensified diplomatic activity aimed at selling the Chequers Brexit plan, Mrs May also talked to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday. They discussed global trade and Brexit.
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