Brexit Minister Vows: Britain Won’t Be Bullied by Brussels

Brexit
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

The British people will not be bullied by the European Commission over Brexit, the minister for exiting the European Union has said.

Defending Prime Minister Theresa May, who on Wednesday accused Brussels of meddling in the UK general election, Brexit Minister David Davis told the BBC Question Time audience: “Clearly what was happening was the Commission was trying to bully the British people – and the British people will not be bullied, and the Government will not allow them to be bullied.”

Speaking to press on the steps of Downing Street, Mrs. May said Wednesday: “Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials.

“All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on 8 June.”

Quizzed on her comments on the BBC show Thursday night, Mr. Davis backed her up saying: “She made the point she made, and she was right to do so.”

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon also leapt to the PM’s defence, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What’s clear from Theresa May’s reaction is that she is prepared, whatever the Commission officials are doing in Brussels, to stand up for Britain’s vital national interest in these very complicated talks.”

Relations between Britain and the rest of the EU have grown increasingly strained this week, thanks in no small part to outlandish demands by Eurocrats that the British people pay as much as €100 billion to the bloc as a ‘divorce settlement’.

The Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel stepped up the rhetoric again on Friday, insisting: “Those who think in Britain they can push the Brexit button and not have a bill to pay are seriously mistaken.”

But appearing alongside Mr. Davis on the BBC’s Q&A programme, UK Independence Party leader Paul Nuttall dismissed the attacks from across the channel, saying they were down to EU leaders being terrified that other countries may seek to follow Britain’s lead out of the bloc.

Attempting to get the process back on an even footing, Donald Tusk, the EU Council President, called for “discretion, moderation and mutual respect” from both parties, The Telegraph has reported, warning: “These negotiations are difficult enough as they are. If we start arguing before they even begin, they will become impossible.”

He added: “The stakes are too high to let our emotions get out of hand. Because at stake are the daily lives and interests of millions of people on both sides of the Channel.”

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.