Mervyn King dismisses ‘incompetent’ preparations for no deal

Ex-Bank Governor Mervyn King dismisses ‘incompetent’ preparations for no deal

Ex-Bank Governor Mervyn King dismisses ‘incompetent’ preparations for no deal warning it has left the UK on track for ‘Brexit in name only’

  • Mervyn King derided ministers’ ‘last minute’ plans for no deal as ‘incompetent’
  • Ex-Bank Governor said it meant Britain had no credible bargaining position 
  • Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has insisted Britain is ready ‘deal or no deal’

Former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King today derided the Government’s ‘incompetent’ preparations for no deal.

He said the failure to properly prepare for the talks with Brussels had left Britain on track for ‘Brexit in name only’.

Lord King, who backed Brexit, said the last-minute preparations for a no-deal Brexit had left Britain without a credible bargaining position.

Former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King (file image) today derided the Government’s ‘incompetent’ preparations for no deal

He made the comments after ministers confirmed efforts were under way to stockpile medicines and ensure an ‘adequate’ food supply if talks fail.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab insisted to MPs yesterday that Britain was ready ‘deal or no deal’. 

Lord King told the BBC: ‘Frankly, if a government cannot take action to prevent some of these catastrophic outcomes, whatever position you take on the EU, it illustrates a whole lack of preparation.

‘It doesn’t tell us anything about whether the policy of staying in the EU is good or bad, it tells us everything about the incompetence of the preparation for it.’


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Brexit in name only would leave Britain closely linked to the EU after leaving, a state Brexiteers say would leave it subject to EU rules but unable to reap the benefits of a full divorce. 

Asked if that meant the Government had been incompetent, Lord King said: ‘The group of people tasked with trying to make decisions on all of this is Parliament as a whole not just the Government, and the civil service, who have brought us to a position where we are now being told that we have to accept a certain course of action otherwise it would be catastrophic.

‘Now, it beggars belief that the sixth biggest economy in the world should get itself into that position.’

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab insisted to MPs yesterday (pictured) that Britain was ready ‘deal or no deal’ 

Lord King, who was in charge of the UK’s central bank from 2003 until 2013, said that credible plans should have been put in place to leave without a deal because Britain cannot impose a deal on the EU.

However he warned that such plans can not be drawn up in six months and would take several years.

Lord King said he feared biggest risk to the UK was that the referendum had failed to resolve the issue of Brexit and it ‘isn’t going to go away’. 

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