Hunt urges Tories to back May after backlash over extended transition

Jeremy Hunt has urged warring Tories to get behind Theresa May’s Brexit strategy as the Prime minister faced a fierce backlash against the idea of extending the UK’s transition period.

The Foreign Secretary said an EU proposal to continue the implementation process “might help” get an agreement on the future relationship and rejected claims that it amounted to a “capitulation”.

He urged Conservatives to put on a united front in the same way as EU27 leaders have during the negotiations.

It came after all wings of the Tory party tore into the leadership, with one MP going as far as branding it a “shit show”.

The firestorm came after Mrs May signalled she is ready to delay the UK’s final departure from the EU’s hold until 2021 in a last ditch bid to end the deadlock over the Irish border issue.

Britain had originally sought a transition period ending in December 2020 after it formally exited the EU in March 2019, but EU chiefs have indicated this could be extended, following a European Council summit this week in Brussels.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Foreign Secretary said: “The reason why this week has been difficult is because Theresa May has not buckled.

“She has held firm. She has stuck to her principles.

“It is precisely because she has not capitulated that we have not concluded this agreement.

“The one thing I would say to my colleagues is that the great strength of the EU in these negotiations is that the 27 EU nations have remained united.

“We now need to do the same behind Theresa May to maximise her negotiating leverage in Brussels and make sure she does come back with that deal that honours the letter and spirit of the referendum decision.”

But signs of unity appeared to be in short supply.

Brexiteer former party leader Iain Duncan Smith told Newsnight that a transition extension would see Britain pay “tens of billions of pounds” extra to the EU.

Former Remainer Nick Boles was also critical, saying it was “worse than being a member of the EU” because the UK would have to follow its rules and pay but have no vote.

The starkest language came from vocal backbencher and former soldier Johnny Mercer, who used an interview with The House magazine to open fire on the leadership.

Calling it a “shit show” he warned that if Tory internecine rows over Brexit let in Jeremy Corbyn “I don’t think we’d be forgiven for a generation and we wouldn’t deserve to be”.

Mr Hunt told Today the transition was not the main issue that needed to be resolved, which remained the so-called Northern Ireland “backstop” intended to ensure there was no return of a “hard border” with the Republic.

“The substantive area of disagreement is whether we would agree to a backstop which would allow for customs barriers down the Irish Sea – the effective break-up of the United Kingdom – or whether we agree to a backstop which would allow the UK as a whole to stay in the customs union indefinitely,” he said.

“Neither of those are acceptable. Those are two very important matters of principle for the United Kingdom.”