Barclay says British government will abide by Supreme Court ruling on parliament suspension
Record ID:
1433038
Barclay says British government will abide by Supreme Court ruling on parliament suspension
- Title: Barclay says British government will abide by Supreme Court ruling on parliament suspension
- Date: 19th September 2019
- Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (SEPTEMBER 19, 2019) (REUTERS) BRITISH BREXIT MINISTER STEPHEN BARCLAY SHAKING HANDS WITH MODERATOR AT EUROPA PRESS BUSINESS BREAKFAST BARCLAY ON STAGE WITH MODERATOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH BREXIT MINISTER STEPHEN BARCLAY SAYING (ON SUPREME COURT RULING ON PARLIAMENT SUSPENSION): "Well I said, as I said at the start, the UK government will abide by the law, the ministerial code requires ministers, including myself, to abide by the law and of course we will abide by the law. That is not to say we will look at it closely and test exactly where we are, but the best way to address this is through a deal." BARCLAY WITH MODERATOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH BREXIT MINISTER STEPHEN BARCLAY SAYING: "I don't need to tell this audience there are strong positions on both sides. We stand in support of Gibraltar. I recognise the position of others, but the point is we discussed this in the deal. I think it was dealt with in a very pragmatic way, but, ultimately, if we find ourselves with no deal, the first question for me is, 'What is the interest of the wider economy? What is it that I can do to support the chief minister (of Gibraltar)?'." BARCLAY WITH MODERATOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH BREXIT MINISTER STEPHEN BARCLAY SAYING: "But that is why we want a deal, because there will be impacts. Now on the issue of tariffs, from a UK perspective of course, there is a balance between the impact on the consumer and the impact on the producer. One needs to look at this. It's worth reminding of course the European Union is putting tariffs across the board on UK goods. So the fact that 88% of the goods by value will be tariff free within the UK, it's just 30% of the value, it is in stark contrast, that's a much more generous offer than indeed the EU offer to the UK." BARCLAY WITH MODERATOR (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH BREXIT MINISTER STEPHEN BARCLAY SAYING: "The alternative, Jeremy Corbyn, he wants to win power in order to negotiate a new deal, which he will bring back to the UK and then he will campaign against the deal he has just negotiated with the EU. I know that will sound like a slightly strange concept to believe, but that is the position of the opposition. My concern with that is that it simply prolongs the level of uncertainty and disruption to businesses like Santander and AIG and others." BARCLAY SHAKING HANDS WITH MODERATOR BARCLAY AND MODERATOR LEAVING
- Embargoed: 3rd October 2019 10:11
- Keywords: Stephen Barclay Brexit Madrid Britain
- Location: MADRID, SPAIN
- City: MADRID, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001AXBPY6F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: British Brexit minister Stephen Barclay said on Thursday (September 19) the conservative government will abide by the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the parliament suspension ordered by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Britain's top judicial body, the Supreme Court, is hearing a third and final day of legal arguments on Thursday over whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson acted unlawfully when he suspended parliament in the run-up to Brexit.
Barclay was speaking in Madrid just six weeks before the date on which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to take Britain out of the European Union by Oct. 31 "do or die", with or without a deal.
Barclay also explained that leaving the EU without a deal would have impact on producers and consumers due to tariffs the European Union will put on UK goods and that is why Britain wants a deal.
The Brexit minister also accused opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn of wanting to gain power in order to negotiate a new deal only to campaigning against it later.
"I know that will sound like a slightly strange concept to believe, but that is the position of the opposition," he told business people at breakfast organised by Spanish news agency Europa Press.
"My concern with that is that it simply prolongs the level of uncertainty and disruption to businesses like Santander and AIG and others," he added.
(Production: Guillermo Martinez, Elena Rodriguez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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