UK diplomats told to spurn old EU allies

British diplomats have been ordered to make an immediate break with their former EU allies.

A mask of Boris Johnson rises above a sea of Union Jacks on London’s Parliament Square at the moment Brexit is done at 11pm on Saturday. Picture: AFP

British diplomats have been ordered to make an immediate break with their former EU allies as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to open a new offensive against Brussels.

A leaked document passed to The Sunday Times revealed that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has told his officials to “sit separately” from their EU counterparts at international summits.

In a telegram sent to British overseas missions last week, he told diplomats to ditch any ideas to “seek residual influence” with EU countries and “adopt a stance as a confident independent country” instead.

The leak emerged as Britain and the EU hardened their rhetoric in preparation for setting out their demands over trade.

Mr Johnson will use a speech on Monday to reject calls for the UK to align with EU rules or let the European Court of Justice regulate trade relations now the country has left. On Sunday one of his aides accused the EU of “total hypocrisy” over its approach.

In the telegram, Mr Raab made clear Brussels officials can no longer dictate to the UK: “We do not accept that the EU can prevent us from speaking or clear our interventions” if the UK takes up different foreign policy positions during the “transition” phase, which ends on December 31.

The Foreign Secretary added: “we should not be shy” if Britain chooses to “disapply EU foreign policy positions”.

In his speech in London, with EU ambassadors in the audience, Mr Johnson will make clear the UK is seeking a limited trade agreement to mirror that of Canada. He will say he would accept an Australia-style deal with the EU - meaning World Trade Organisation terms, with side deals on important subjects such as aviation — which would, in effect, be a rebranding of a no-deal Brexit.

A senior civil servant said the entrenching of positions on both sides could lead to Britain leaving without a trade deal. “That is dramatically underpriced,” he said.

Mr Johnson will say the UK:

● Will not align with EU rules;

● Will not allow the ECJ to regulate UK-EU trade relations;

●Will refuse any extension of the transition phase past December 31;

● Will not put the National Health Service on the table in trade deals with the US, Japan, Australia and other countries;

●Will not relax rules on food hygiene, workers’ rights and environmental standards; and

● Will sit separately from the EU in the WTO and other organisations.

Mr Johnson’s team is furious that Brussels is seeking to impose regulatory controls and ECJ oversight on Britain, arguing they are suited to a much closer relationship, such as that with Norway.

A senior source said: “They are now trying to push for something with all the obligations of the Norway model with the market access restrictions of Canada — this is a total hypocrisy and a non-starter for the UK. The EU may believe they can conduct this negotiation the same way they did the previous one, but we are in a very different place. They can no longer threaten a majority of MPs with no deal as it no longer exists.”

Mr Johnson will use the speech to set out his domestic priorities after Brexit, vowing: “No achievement lies beyond our reach.”

He told Tory aides on Friday: “This is a turning point for the life of our nation.” A statement to the House of Commons on Monday will set out the UK position on EU trade negotiations.

Mr Raab told diplomats to do more to put “free trade at the heart” of their work, but did not set out how Britain would pursue different foreign policy goals from the EU. The telegram clears the way for Britain to work more closely with Donald Trump, or take up contrary positions on the Middle East.

The Sunday Times