The Dominic Cummings Charade of Boris et al | 23 comments (23 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

First Day on the Job as UK FM (none / 0)

Great to be back at @foreignoffice where I first worked as a young lawyer and to address staff this afternoon. I made clear that we must be confident and grasp the opportunities ahead, as a free trading nation with a strong moral anchor pic.twitter.com/1qROWLwCRE
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) July 25, 2019

Getting the hang of it ...

Raab: UK will be better able to negotiate with EU after no-deal Brexit
Dominic Raab has claimed Britain will be in a better position to negotiate a "good deal" with the European Union if it crashes out of the bloc before the end of October.
The foreign secretary believes a no-deal scenario could provide more leverage in the context of a free trade agreement and resolve long-standing issues such as the Irish backstop.
The MP for Esher and Walton in Surrey also suggested the EU's "stubborn" behaviour would be responsible if the UK left without a deal and refused to endorse Boris Johnson's claim during his campaign for the Conservative leadership that the prospect of a no-deal Brexit was a-million-to-one against.
On leaving without a deal after 31 October, Raab told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The prospect of reverting and getting a good deal will be easier after we have left if that is the case. The reason being we do as an independent third country and less subject to effectively the demands of the EU as we are now."
...
The government has stepped up preparations for such an outcome in recent days. Michael Gove said over the weekend that officials were "operating on the assumption" that a deal would not be struck.

○ Johnson rejects Gove's claim that government now assuming no deal Brexit most likely outcome

Quick response from mainland Europe ...

'Complete breakdown': EU rejects Dominic Raab's 'easier' no-deal Brexit claim
European officials agree that a precondition of talks would be a British pledge to honour the three core parts of the withdrawal agreement - citizens' rights, the Irish border and the financial settlement.
At the weekend, the EU budget commissioner, Günther Oettinger, told
Der Tagesspiegel the UK's credit rating would be hit if Boris Johnson carried out his threat not to honour payments promised to the EU.

○ FactCheck: We can't find evidence that Dominic Raab warned of no-deal Brexit
○ Boris Johnson criticised for 'snubbing' Leo Varadkar | The National |

"£4bn has been allocated to the process of leaving the EU already" says Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, "we will do whatever it takes to make sure we can leave the EU" (_link) #Brexit pic.twitter.com/Z6JGjlYJHD
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 29, 2019