Hunt lashes Airbus for ‘completely inappropriate’ attack on Brexit plans

Jeremy Hunt lashed out at Airbus and other firms today for ‘completely inappropriate’ attacks on the government’s Brexit strategy.  

The Health Secretary said businesses giving dire warnings about abandoning the UK would only undermine the PM at a crucial stage in negotiations with the EU.

The blistering condemnation came after Airbus warned last week that it may quit Britain in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Other firms including BMW and Siemens have joined in by issuing grim threats about their future plans.

On the BBC’s Andrew Marr show today, Jeremy Hunt said businesses giving dire warnings would only undermine the PM at a crucial stage in negotiations with the EU

The unveiling of an A320 jet in 2014. Sales of aircraft like this helps Airbus generate £1.7bn in UK tax revenues

The unveiling of an A320 jet in 2014. Sales of aircraft like this helps Airbus generate £1.7bn in UK tax revenues

Mrs May (pictured at church in Maidenhead with husband Philip today) has been fighting to get a good Brexit deal from the EU

Mrs May (pictured at church in Maidenhead with husband Philip today) has been fighting to get a good Brexit deal from the EU

But the interventions have been dismissed as politically motivated by Brexiteers, and Mr Hunt told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘I thought it was completely inappropriate for businesses to be making these kinds of threats for one very simple reason.

‘We are at an absolutely critical moment in the Brexit discussions and what that means is that we need to get behind Theresa May to deliver the best possible Brexit – a clean Brexit.

How big is Airbus in the UK? Giant employs 14,000 people across 25 sites

Airbus employs around 14,000 people in the UK across 25 sites.

It is the largest commercial aerospace company in the UK, and every single wing of an Airbus aircraft is manufactured here. 

According to a 2017 report by Oxford Economics, Airbus’ global operations supported a £7.8bn contribution to the UK economy in 2015. 

At sites in Broughton, Flintshire, and Filton, Gloucestershire, they manufacture wings and landing gear for its commerical aircraft.

According to its website, it is the ‘biggest civil aerospace exporter’ in the UK.

It also it the biggest supplier of helicopters in the country, is the UK’s largest space company, and according to its website is the ‘leading commercial provider of military satellite communications.

It it also the biggest supplier of large aircraft to the Royal Air Force, and says on its website that it is a ‘world leader in cyber security.’

Each year Airbus spends in excess of £5billion with UK suppliers.

‘What businesses want… is clarity and certainty and the more that we undermine Theresa May the more likely we are to end up with a fudge, which would be an absolute disaster for everyone.’ 

Mr Hunt described described Mrs May as being like ‘most Britons’ in having ‘the instincts of a Brexiteer but the cautious pragmatism of a Remainer’.

He told Marr: ‘Firstly, I don’t think it is particularly surprising that multinational companies have qualms about Brexit.

‘Secondly, at this stage in the negotiations things feel pretty tricky because the European Commission has got absolutely no interest at all in saying that ‘these Brexit negotiations are going swimmingly well; well done Team Britain and we will have a good deal’.

‘They were always going to be saying that this was going to be very, very tricky. This is part of their negotiating tactics.

‘We have to stand firm in this situation, ignore these Siren voices and get on and support Theresa May.’ 

Over the weekend BMW’s UK boss Ian Robertson insisted clarity over Brexit was needed by the end of the summer.

The car giant makes the Mini and Rolls Royce and employs about 8,000 people in the UK.

Ian Robertson, BMW’s special representative in the UK, said uncertainty was causing problems for the industry.  

Juergen Maier, chief executive of the UK arm of German engineer Siemens, told the Financial Times executives were frustrated that two years after the EU referendum no one knew the final post-Brexit arrangements.

He told the paper companies like his would ‘take different investment decisions’ in a no-deal scenario. 

Meanwhile John Neill, chief executive of Unipart, a car parts supplier that employees 6,000 people in Britain warned: ‘The implications for the British economy are very, very severe and could result in busloads of jobs disappearing into Europe.’  

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox businesses should also be raising their concerns to figures in Brussels.

He told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday: ‘If we actually say we’ll accept any deal you give us ratherthan walk away, that weakens our negotiating position.

‘And people who are making these comments need to understand that they may be actually putting the UK at a disadvantage by making these cases.

‘We’ve got to be free in the negotiation to say if we don’t get the deal we want, there won’t be any agreement.’

Dr Fox added that extending Article 50, which governs when the UK leaves the EU would not be politically acceptable.

But he said he would not have a major objection if the transition period was extended, as long as it was time limited and for technical reasons.

There would also need to be a mechanism for the UK to walk away ‘if we thought that we were being kept in the European Union against our will’, he added. 

An Airbus employee at the firm's Filton plant in Bristol works on the tailfin of an A440M in this file photo

An Airbus employee at the firm’s Filton plant in Bristol works on the tailfin of an A440M in this file photo

Airbus employs thousands of staff at sites across the UK - a total of 15,000 people in 25 locations in England, Wales and Scotland 

Airbus employs thousands of staff at sites across the UK – a total of 15,000 people in 25 locations in England, Wales and Scotland 

Mr Hunt said businesses should back Mrs May at a crucial stage in negotiations with Brussels

Mr Hunt said businesses should back Mrs May at a crucial stage in negotiations with Brussels

The Government insists the negotiations with Brussels are making ‘good progress’ and it is confident that a ‘no-deal scenario’ will not arise.

But unions and opposition parties attacked the Government for the impact already being felt across industry from the lack of a deal.

Unite called on the Government to stop the ‘infighting’ and provide some certainty for British industry and millions of workers.

Brexiteers urge PM to ramp up planning for ‘no deal’ 

Theresa May has been urged by hardline Brexiteers to speed up preparations for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit to put pressure on Brussels during withdrawal negotiations.

Sixty former cabinet ministers, MPs, economists and business figures signed a letter to the Prime Minister urging her to issue orders to departments to accelerate planning for Britain to operate under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules if a deal cannot be done.

They argue that in order to have ‘real leverage in the Brexit endgame’ the UK must reserve the right to walk away without a trade deal ‘and take with it the £39 billion it has offered to pay as part of a divorce settlement’.

Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out staying in the customs union or the EU single market. The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March 2019, but a mooted transition period would run until the end of 2020. 

Mrs May has also been urged by hardline Brexiteers to speed up preparations for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit to put pressure on Brussels during withdrawal negotiations.

Former chancellor Lord Lawson, ex-environment secretary Owen Paterson, Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin and Sir Rocco Forte were among signatories of a letter to the Prime Minister urging her to issue orders to departments to accelerate planning for Britain to operate under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules if a deal cannot be done.

They argue that in order to have ‘real leverage in the Brexit endgame’ the UK must reserve the right to walk away without a trade deal ‘and take with it the GBP39 billion it has offered to pay as part of a divorce settlement’. 

 

 



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