Politics

Tories have been ‘imposing sanctions on British population since 2016’ – former diplomat says

Not doing Brexit could have saved us cumulative losses of £87 billion a year in gross domestic product and £32 billion a year in lost inland revenue, a former diplomat has said.

Submitting a letter to the Financial Times, Michael Lake equated the UK’s split with the European Union to sanctions imposed against Russia.

Last week Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested that by not implementing checks at the border we will save £1 billion, describing the measures as an “act of self-harm”.

“It would have increased costs for people and we are trying to reduce costs… free trade is hugely advantageous to consumers,” he added.

In response, Lake, a former European Commission Official, said the government has imposed “broad and deeply damaging sanctions on the British population since 2016 by means of Brexit.

“Anyone who votes for this pack of loonies again must be gaga.”

Related: Times columnist says we are ‘hurting Oxbridge’ in the name of equality

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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Tags: Brexit