Responding to the International Trade Secretary’s comments that the Government would “absolutely not” trigger Article 16 before the end of the year – and Downing Street’s subsequent slapping down of those comments – Liberal Democrat Northern Ireland Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “This is yet more chaos and confusion from the Tories. Even our hard-Brexiteer Trade Secretary knows it would be madness to crash our trading relations with the EU just weeks before Christmas, and yet No 10 are refusing to rule it out.
“The PM spent the morning making a chaotic speech, talking about Peppa Pig and losing the plot. Is it any wonder that ministers don’t know what their own position is? Liberal Democrats are clear – the Government must rule out triggering Article 16 so that families and businesses can have some peace of mind this Christmas.”