A new UK government report suggests Britain’s failure to strike a deal on its exit from the EU was “a wholly fucked up strategy”.
The document, published by the Office of National Statistics, says Britain’s decision to leave the bloc in March 2019 was based on “two incorrect premises”.
It says the UK was “clearly and clearly” not “clear” about its negotiating objectives and that it was “likely to be confused about the terms of exit”.
The report says: “The British government, led by Theresa May, failed to articulate clearly and clearly what the UK intended to do if it chose to leave, or what the consequences of its withdrawal from the European Union would be.”
The report said the UK would be unable to “negotiate a smooth and orderly withdrawal” and that the consequences could be “catastrophic”.
It said the Brexit timetable was “too short, too fast, and too far away from the economic realities”.
The government also said it “missed the opportunity” to negotiate a “fair and orderly” exit from EU membership.
A government spokesperson said: “In the weeks leading up to the EU referendum, the UK government had repeatedly said that it would negotiate the terms and conditions of our departure from the 28-nation bloc.”
We were clear, as the government set out in its formal negotiation proposals, that this would be an outcome of a fully negotiated and agreed deal.
“However, as soon as we left the EU, the government was clear that we did not have the time or the political will to negotiate such an agreement.”
The document said the government should have been “more transparent and upfront about its position”, but the government had “failing to do so”.
The UK is the EU’s second largest trading partner and the EU is the UK’s largest trading bloc.
In June, the EU agreed to a deal with Canada and Mexico that would see them agree to phase out a large portion of the UK tariffs on goods and services in return for the UK staying in the bloc.
This deal is set to come into effect on February 28th.