WATCH: Labour MP claims Michel Barnier told him Theresa May's Brexit plan is 'dead'
3 min read
Michel Barnier told MPs that Theresa May's Brexit blueprint is "dead", it has been claimed.
Labour MP Stephen Kinnock made the extraordinary claim while grilling Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab.
Mr Kinnock told a meeting of the European Scrutiny Committee that Mr Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, had told MPs "le propositione sont Mort" - French for "the plan is dead".
And he claimed the EU chief had "agreed with" a characterisation of the proposals as "dead in the water".
But Mr Raab angrily pressed the pro-Remain Labour MP for more detail, saying: "Can I just check? ‘Dead in the water’ - are these your words or his?"
Mr Kinnock said: "It was all in French so I can’t give you the exact French… It will all be published. It was a public session. So I would be very happy to share that."
The Brexit Secretary told MPs he was "very happy" to ask Mr Barnier whether he had actually used the phrased "dead in the water" - and he again challenged Mr Kinnock to back up his claim.
The Labour MP hit back: "He said, 'Le Propositione son Mort' - something like that."
'DEAD HORSE'
The row came as Mr Raab vowed that Britain would not "tie our hands from thriving" after Brexit.
But he faced further questions from former Brexit minister David Jones, who has repeatedly criticised the Chequers plan for leaving the UK too closely aligned to the EU and accused Mr Raab of flogging a "dead horse".
Mr Jones said: "You admitted that your focus is on trying to deliver an agreement along the lines of Chequers.
"We know from Mr Kinnock that Mr Barnier thinks that Chequers is 'mort dans l'eau (dead in the water)'.
"We know that several members of the Conservative Party... from both Remain and Leave tendencies think that Chequers is dead in the water.
"Why are you flogging this dead horse?"
Mr Raab shot back: "This is a negotiation with the EU so you are going to hear noises from various sides that are critical.
"That is an inherent part of a sensitive, contentious negotiation like this but you should be in no doubt that we are making good progress."
The row came amid reports Mr Barnier told the same gathering of MPs that Mrs May should ditch Chequers and instead pursue a Canada-style agreement with the EU.
Speaking after those talks, Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg said Mr Barnier had described Mrs May’s Chequers proposals as “rubbish”, while his Conservative colleague Christopher Chope said none of those present “listening to Mr Barnier could be in any doubt” that he rejected the deal “without any qualification”.
But the Brexit Secretary on Wednesday told the Committee the EU was "neither one individual or the Commission", and claimed there had been "lots of positive feedback" for the Chequers proposals from other top European figures.
"From the Irish Taoiseach, to the Latvian foreign minister, to the Danish finance minister, to the Polish foreign minister we’ve had lots of positive feedback," he said.
"But you’re right to say, I think, two things. First of all that we are challenging some of the... dry legal dogma that goes with some aspects of the EU in some quarters.
"And secondly, beneath all of this... there’s a slight nervousness that the UK might rather do well and establish a competitive advantage on the EU and that ought to give people in this chamber and the wider public a sense of confidence."
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