"Do not try to bully us" Brexit minister Raab tells EU

BIRMINGHAM: Britain’s Brexit minister warned the European Union on Monday against trying to bully the United Kingdom into signing a divorce deal that would undermine the unity of the country.

“If the only offer from the EU threatens the integrity of our Union then we will be left with no choice but to leave with no deal,” Raab told the Conservative Party conference in the English city of Birmingham.

Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Dominic Raab delivering his keynote address on October 1 said “What is unthinkable is that this government, or any British government, could be bullied by the threat of some kind of economic embargo, into signing a one-sided deal against our country’s interests,” Raab added.

“I find it hard to believe that they would, for narrow political ends, seek to punish Britain in such a crass and counterproductive way,” he said.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has adopted a new strident tone in its dealings with the EU, angered after what some saw as an ambush in Austria last month when several of the bloc’s leaders criticised some of her Brexit proposals.

But ministers are also keen to use the governing Conservative Party’s annual conference in the central English city of Birmingham to try to win over Brexit supporters who fear May is leading Britain towards leaving the EU in name only.

Just six months before Britain is due to leave the EU in the country’s biggest shift in foreign and trade policy in more than 40 years, the debate over how to leave the bloc is still raging in the centre-right Conservative Party, and even in government.

The main opposition Labour Party accused Raab of being “in denial” over May’s Chequers plan, named after her country residence where an agreement was hashed out with her ministers in July.