Amber Rudd suggests Britain could still remain in customs union after Brexit
3 min read
Amber Rudd has become embroiled in a fresh row after she suggested Britain could remain in a customs union with the EU after Brexit.
In comments which put her at odds with Downing Street, the Home Secretary said the Government was "still working on" its final policy on the issue.
Theresa May has insisted that the UK will be leaving the customs union when it quits the EU, leaving it free to strike trade deals with other countries.
But Ms Rudd - who campaigned for Remain in the EU referendum - appeared to muddy the waters with her comments at a lunch in Westminster.
She said: "I'm committed to the Government's position, which to some extent we are still working on."
Asked if she believed Britain could stay in a customs union after Brexit, the Home Secretary said: "I'm afraid I'm not going to get drawn on that.
"We still have a few discussions to be had in a really positive, consensual, easy way among some of my Cabinet colleagues in order to arrive at a final position."
Labour has said it supports remaining in a customs union, and Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer said Ms Rudd's remarks showed that could still end up being government policy.
He said: "Amber Rudd appears to have let slip that discussions around the Cabinet table about negotiating a customs union with the EU have not in fact concluded.
"If that is so, then the Prime Minister should rethink her approach and listen to the growing chorus of voices in Parliament and in business that believe she has got it wrong on a customs union."
In a desperate bid to defuse the row, Ms Rudd later tweeted that the UK would "of course" be leaving the customs union.
The latest row came as Tory MPs warned the Government that future generations would not forgive them if they put Britain's economy, and peace in Northern Ireland, at risk in pursuit of a hard Brexit.
Speaking in a Commons debate, former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: "This country is being asked to experiment at other people’s pleasure with a free trade policy when we do not know what the costs will be for constituents and businesses in this country.
"And I say to my party, if we undermine and ignore the evidence for peace in Northern Ireland and we undermine the business and financial security… we will not be forgiven for a generation."
REMOVAL TARGETS
Meanwhile, Amber Rudd has insisted that she will not be resigning over the ongoing rows on the Windrush generation and Home Office targets for removing illegal immigrants which she did not know about.
Labour has called on the Home Secretary to quit over the ongoing controversies, but she said she had a lot to do and was going nowhere.
"There is a lot to do in the Home Office," she said. "There are fantastic people working in the Home Office. There are some real challenges there, but I can do this.
"It's been a difficult few weeks but I am committed to the Home Office and the job I have."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
