David Frost misled the Lords EU committee when he blamed the EU for the “niggling border issues”, like the interruption of trade in shellfish, that have followed the last-minute agreement that he negotiated (EU to seek more time to ratify Brexit trade deal amid tensions with UK, 9 February).
He represented a government that insisted that we were an independent third country, seeking a minimalist agreement on Canadian lines. That’s what the trade and cooperation agreement gave us. It’s dishonest to complain now that the EU did not offer us extra concessions not in its treaty with Canada. He is, after all, an expert in diplomacy; he cannot have been unaware of the consequences of what he so carefully negotiated.
William Wallace
Liberal Democrats, House of Lords
• Michael Gove compares the ongoing disruptions from Brexit to the initial turbulence at takeoff, before the flight settles down and the passengers are treated to a gin and tonic. Lord Frost says the relationship with the EU has been “more than bumpy” in the last six weeks. How would Michael Gove accommodate “problematic” to his flight simile? Failure in one of the engines?
Emeritus Prof Chris Hendry
Nottingham
.png?w=600)
