‘Only Putin will rejoice if Brussels rebuffs UK’

JEREMY Hunt last night warned Brussels that only Vladimir Putin would be ‘rejoicing’ if it fails to agree a Brexit deal with Britain.

The newly appointed Foreign Secretary said that while a ‘no deal’ Brexit would be ‘challenging’ for the UK, it would ‘thrive’ in the long term.

And he suggested the British public would blame the EU for a ‘no deal’ scenario, warning relations between the UK and its European allies would be badly damaged for a generation.

On a visit to Berlin, Mr Hunt said: ‘Without a real change in approach from the EU negotiators, we do now face a real risk of ‘no deal’ by accident.

‘That would be incredibly challenging economically. Britain would find that challenging but in the end we would find a way not just to survive but to thrive economically.

‘But my real concern is that it would change British public attitudes to Europe for a generation.

‘It would lead to a fissure in relations which would be highly damaging for that great partnership that we have had for so many years, which has been so important in sustaining the international order.’ The Foreign Secretary said ‘the only person rejoicing’ from a no deal Brexit would be Russian president Mr Putin.

Mr Hunt’s trip to Berlin for talks with his German counterpart marks the start of a frenetic round of diplomacy as ministers seek to build support for Mrs May’s Brexit strategy.

The Prime Minister is expected to hold talks with Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz and other EU leaders at the Salzburg Festival on Friday.

Mrs May’s de facto deputy David Lidington will today travel to Paris while Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab will be in Brussels for talks on Thursday.

After the meeting with Mr Hunt yesterday, German foreign minister Heiko Maas said some of the proposals in Mrs May’s Brexit white paper ‘raise questions on both sides of the Channel’ that will have to be examined.

But he added: ‘We don’t want a disorderly Brexit, we want an agreement. Despite Brexit, we will continue to stand for the same values and interests.’

At a Cabinet away day in the North East yesterday, Mrs May said the country will ‘do really well’ after leaving the EU.