Brexit intelligence withdrawal threats not ‘feasible’

A British politician has warned the government to avoid using the UK’s counter terror and espionage expertise as part of its bargaining campaign in Brexit negotiations.

Claude Moraes, a Labour MEP for London, said that the mutually beneficial nature of the UK’s security and defence work means that the government would not be able to withdraw from European cooperation - saying that it is a question of ‘reality’ and not politics.

He said: “Security is an area of strength for the UK, but it should not be overstated in the negotiations, because we would be understating the contributions of other countries and many of these things can be mutually beneficial.

“You can’t get into the situation where you threaten to withdraw intelligence assets that might be shared across the continent. You can’t just easily withdraw cooperation because something else has happened in the negotiations.”

Speaking to the Guardian, Moraes, who chairs the European parliament’s influential civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee, also claimed that Britain must recognise the difficulties of achieving Prime Minister Theresa May’s ‘frictionless border’ with Ireland, and suggested that the government also accept the legal authority of the European court of justice in a transition deal.