Brexit: Theresa May calls for CRISIS summit on ‘no deal’ Brexit | Politics | News – UK

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Downing Street told Cabinet ministers to prepare for a meeting on September 13 to work out a plan to divert cash into critical areas that are not yet covered by disaster plans.

The call, made on Friday morning, comes as Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab questioned the viability of economic forecasts just days after Chancellor Philip Hammond announced there could be “large fiscal consequences” to the sum of £80billion if the UK leaves the bloc with a no deal. 

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Mr Raab dismissed the Chancellor’s warning, arguing: “I’m always chary of any forecast because most of them have been proved to be wrong.”

Mr Hammond was criticised for scaremongering after he reiterated an earlier government analysis released in January that stated the UK’s spending could be around £80 billion a year higher by 2023-34 if the UK leaves without an agreement. 

In a letter to Conservative MP Nicky Morgan, Mr Hammond said the analysis estimated that a no deal could see GDP fall by as much as 10 percent. 

But his remarks clashed with Mr Raab who was trying to reassure the public in a speech that coincided with the government publishing technical notes on the outcome of a no deal Brexit.

Mr Hammod said the initial Government analysis was undergoing a process of “refinement” ahead of a parliamentary vote on any deal, highlighting that Brexit routes that have bigger barriers to trade with the EU will have more damage on the economy. 

Referring to the Government’s preferred exit approach, which was outlined in a White Paper following a cabinet summit at Chequers, Mr Hammond, said: “It is expected that the economic and fiscal impacts of the white paper model will be substantially better than no deal, protecting jobs and livelihoods and supporting both the UK and EU’s commitments to no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.”

One source said that the meeting in September was needed in order to decide whether the UK could really hold up if a no deal scenario were to unfold. 

And another raised concerns that some departments are better prepared than others, saying the meeting would decide how much funding will be spent and where. 

So far £750million has been spent on no-deal planning with a further £3billion yet to be allocated. 

Former Belgian prime minister, Herman Van Rompuy, has warned a no deal Brexit would break up the UK, prompting Scotland to trigger another independence referendum. 

Mr Van Rompuy told the Observer: “We could end up with a situation in which the EU27 becomes more united and a United Kingdom less united.

“This talk about a ‘no deal’ is the kind of nationalist rhetoric that belongs to another era.”

However, Conservative politician Sir Graham Brady argued the EU has won its “main political objective” by instilling the UK with last-minute panic over a no deal scenario. 

With this ‘objective’ out of the way, Mr Brady still has high hopes that the UK and EU can strike a deal that suits both, he said. 

He added: “Brexit has not been made to look simple or uncomplicated.

“But now, both sides on the negotiating table can really focus on what is in our interests for the future.

“We all have to be a little bit more sober and realistic over our future relationship so we can continue to trade and continue to prosper on both sides of the Channel.

“I believe we have a good chance of getting a good deal still.”

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