British Brexit minister Dominic Raab has warned the European Union on Monday against trying to bully the United Kingdom into signing a deal that would undermine the unity of the country.
“If the only offer from the EU threatens the integrity of our Union then we will be left with no choice but to leave with no deal,” Mr Raab told the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
“What is unthinkable is that this government, or any British government, could be bullied by the threat of some kind of economic embargo, into signing a one-sided deal against our country’s interests,” Mr Raab said.
“I find it hard to believe that they would, for narrow political ends, seek to punish Britain in such a crass and counterproductive way,” he said.
Mr Raab called on European Union leaders to start to compromise in talks over Britain’s exit from the EU, as time runs out for a deal to be done.
“If the EU want a deal, they need to get serious. And they need to do it now,” Mr Raab told the Conservative party conference in Birmingham on Monday.
He said the EU’s approach to talks so far had seen “a starkly one-sided approach to negotiation” which had left “no room for serious compromise”.
Meanwhile British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has come under fire for comparing the European Union to the Soviet Union during a speech at the Conservative party conference ”.