Philip Hammond today warned European leaders that Britain is ready to “go it alone” with a rival to the EU’s Galileo satnav system as Brexit talks turned sour in Brussels.
At the same time, the UK’s top negotiator responded to European Commission taunts that British trade proposals were “fantasy”, by publicly praising his officials for reacting “calmly” during the talks.
Ministers were fighting to get on the front foot as tensions rose ahead of a June summit, including over access to Galileo.
Arriving in Brussels for a meeting, the Chancellor demanded either full access to the £8 billion system or a refund of over £1 billion paid by UK taxpayers.
“If that proves impossible then Britain will have to go it alone, possibly with other partners outside Europe and the US, to build a third competing [satellite] system,” he said.
“For national security strategic reasons we need access to a system and we’ll ensure that we get it,” he added.
The EU says Britain will be barred from the system when by law it is a third-party country.
But ministers suspect it is a tactic by senior commission official Martin Selmayr to make Brexit as painful as possible.
The row has divided EU states, however, because of Britain’s massive defence contribution to European security. Mr Hammond said the jibe about fantasy proposals was not “particularly helpful”.
Olly Robbins, the Prime Minister’s chief Brexit adviser, acknowledged how bruising the talks had become by tweeting thanks to his officials.
“Very proud of the x-Government team that worked so hard to support technical talks in Brussels this week,” he wrote. “UK proposals for a deep relationship, calmly and professionally presented.”
MPs noted that he seemed to have cut the usual phrase “deep and special” to merely deep.
Meanwhile, Mrs May came under blistering attack from a Tory donor who bankrolled the Vote Leave campaign.
Financier Jeremy Hosking, who has given the Tories £375,000 since 2015 and who gave Vote Leave £1.7 million, said: “It just resembles a Greek tragedy and it only ends when everyone is dead.”
Mrs May should be replaced, he told the Daily Telegraph’s Chopper’s Brexit Podcast, adding: “Someone has got to say it — it ain’t working.
“There very definitely needs to be a change and a reset.”
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His outburst is the latest signal from the Brexiteers that they are running out of patience, as Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns quit as a housing aide last night so she can campaign for a hard Brexit.
Tory MP Huw Merriman tweeted his admiration for Ms Jenkyns, saying: “Share her #Brexit aims so wishing her well.”
