FORMER Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King has said Brexit could present “opportunities” for the UK, but has criticised Theresa May for using EU nationals living in the UK as bargaining chips in negotiations.
In an interview with the BBC, the senior economist who led the Bank of England until 2013 and now sits in the House of Lords, said May should make her post-Brexit immigration policies clearer.
His call was echoed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Writing in today’s National, the SNP leader says May should “finally do the right thing” and guarantee “the residency status of all EU nationals currently living in the UK,” adding that the failure to do so in the six months since the referendum was “disgraceful”.
However, King’s stance on immigration will likely be all he and Sturgeon agree on.
The peer gave the beleaguered Tory Prime Minister a bit of a boost by saying Brexit could be good for business.
“I think the challenges we face mean it’s not a bed of roses – no one should pretend that – but equally it is not the end of the world and there are some real opportunities that arise from the fact of Brexit we might take,” King told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He added: “There are many opportunities and I think we should look at it in a much more self-confident way than either side is approaching it at present. Being out of what is a pretty unsuccessful European Union – particularly in the economic sense – gives us opportunities as well as obviously great political difficulties.”
King also said he didn’t think Britain should remain in the customs union, saying what the country gained in being able to trade goods without border tariffs would restrict its ability to strike its own trade deals with other countries.
The former governor’s assessment of the economy came as Wilbur Ross, the new trade chief for President Elect Donald Trump, was reported claiming Brexit was a “God-given opportunity” for other countries to take business away from the UK.
According to The Times, Ross, a controversial billionaire, who is responsible for negotiating any free trade deal between the UK and the Trump administration, encouraged other countries to take advantage of Britain’s isolation.
Speaking to an audience of Cypriot financiers, immediately after Britain had voted for Brexit, and before Trump had asked him to join his cabinet, Ross reportedly said: “I recommend that Cyprus should adopt and immediately announce even more liberal financial service policies than it already has so that it can try to take advantage of the inevitable relocations that will occur during the period of confusion.”
Meanwhile, the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg said she had been told that the Queen backed Brexit, but did not report it as it came from a single source. The BBC generally needs two sources before running a story. The claim was printed in The Sun two months later.
Speaking on the Today programme, Kuenssberg said: “In a casual chat with one of my contacts, they said, ‘Do you know what? At some point this is going to come out, and I’m telling you now and I don’t know if the BBC would touch it, but the Queen told people at a private lunch that she thinks that we should leave the EU.
“Apparently at this lunch she said: ‘I don’t see why we can’t just get out. What’s the problem?’ “My jaw hit the floor. Very sadly, I only had one source. I spent the next few days trying to prove it. I couldn’t find the evidence. Lo and behold, a couple of months later, someone else did. Of course then ensued a huge row between that newspaper and the palace over what had really been said or not said.”
The Sun’s story said the Queen had “let rip” at the then deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, about the EU.
Clegg dismissed the story, and accusing the failed Tory leadership contender Michael Gove of making it all up.
Gove has never confirmed or denied being the original source for the story. He told The Guardian: “Well, as I’ve said before I don’t know how The Sun got all its information, and I don’t think it’s really worth my adding anything to what’s already been said about this story.”
Buckingham Palace complained to IPSO about the claim. The newspaper regulator upheld the palace’s complaint.
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