Prominent Brexit supporters have hit out at senior Conservative figures after the Observer revealed they had taken part in a private cross-party summit entitled: “How can we make Brexit work better with our neighbours in Europe?”
John Redwood, the prominent Brexit-supporting Tory MP, and Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence party, criticised those attending the summit at Oxfordshire’s Ditchley Park retreat, including the cabinet minister Michael Gove.
Redwood tweeted: “Instead of talking of sellout at private conferences the UK establishment needs to complete Brexit and use its freedoms.”
Farage meanwhile said: “The full sellout of Brexit is under way. This Tory party never believed in it.”
The Mail also reported comments from former Brexit negotiator and ex-cabinet minister Lord Frost, who said: “Brexit doesn’t need ‘fixing’. It needs this Conservative government, elected with a huge mandate on a Brexit programme, to fully and enthusiastically embrace its advantages instead of leaving the field to those who never wanted it in the first place.”
The criticisms came after the Observer reported details of the discussions, which involved frontbench MPs from both main parties, as well as diplomats, foreign policy experts and prominent business figures.
The politicians included Gove, who helped lead the Vote Leave campaign, as well as the former Tory leader Michael Howard and the former Conservative chancellor Norman Lamont.
Attenders from Labour included the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, and the shadow defence secretary, John Healey. Peter Mandelson, the former Labour cabinet minister, chaired the event.
A source with knowledge of the summit told the Observer: “The main thrust of it was that Britain is losing out, that Brexit is not delivering, our economy is in a weak position.”
Gove did not comment on the talks, although a source said he attended in his capacity as a governor of Ditchley, where it was held.
Those involved are understood to have talked at length about the Northern Ireland protocol, which is under discussion between UK and EU officials. The British government is hoping to reach a deal to overturn the protocol, which governs trade across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, within weeks.
Ministers in London have introduced legislation which would allow the UK to override the protocol unilaterally – though that has been shelved while talks with the EU are proceeding.
Redwood tweeted: “Pass the NI protocol bill so NI is fully part of the UK and take back full control of our fish for starters.”
Both Labour and the Tories are committed to keeping Britain out of the EU, and both say the country will stay out of the single market as well.
However members of both parties have talked about how they can repair relations with the EU even outside those institutions.
Bloomberg reported last week that the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has asked his senior ministers to draw up plans for rebuilding links with EU countries after years of acrimony. The newswire reported that the plans focused on areas including defence, migration, trade and energy.
