‘We wouldn’t have done it!’ Hartley-Brewer shuts down Moran’s attack on UK Brexit freedom – Express

Julia Hartley-Brewer has clashed with Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran over the benefits of Brexit to Britain's Covid vaccine rollout during the pandemic. Ms Hartley-Brewer shut down the Lib Dem for arguing that talk of Britain enjoying Brexit freedoms when it came to the vaccine was a "red herring."

Ms Moran told Politics Live that talk of Britain having "our own vaccine policy" as a result of Brexit "is a complete red herring."

In response, Ms Hartley-Brewer remarked: "Who could have done it but we wouldn't have done it.

"In the same way, France and Germany could have done it..."

"Well I'm glad you admit we could have done it," replied Ms Moran.

Ms Hartley-Brewer added: "So could France and Germany but they didn't and thousands of people died unnecessarily."

It comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak was forced to acknowledge that Britain's withdrawal from the European Union has affected the level of overseas trade,

Giving evidence to the Commons Treasury Committee on last week's Spring Statement, Mr Sunak said it was "inevitable" that UK trade with the EU would fall as a result ofBrexit.

At the same time, he said that it was too early for the benefits of trade deals the UK had struck with other countries to kick in.

Mr Sunak was challenged by the committee chairman, Tory MP Mel Stride, about new figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility, showing that while other countries' "trade intensity" had come back "quite strongly" sinceBrexitand the pandemic, the UK's had not.

"Doesn't that tell you that the main distinction between ourselves and them is that we went throughBrexitand they didn't?" Mr Stride said.

Mr Sunak said it was too soon to disentangle the effects of the pandemic and ofBrexit, but acknowledged that leaving the EU had had an impact.

"We are still trying to work through what all the impacts are," he said. It was always inevitable that there would be a change in our trade intensity with Europe as a result of the change in the trade relationship.

"Without doubt, we are changing our trading relationship with the EU and that means a different set of controls and things people will have to do and that will obviously have an impact.

"That is, I am sure, a big part of the reason why this is happening. I think it is maybe a bit early to be definitive about which bits are doing what."

Mr Sunak, however, rejected the suggestion that the UK was becoming "a more closed economy", insisting the Government wanted it to be much more open to the world on trade.

"The benefit of new trading relationships takes time. They don't happen all overnight. Of course, that will happen over a period of time," he said.

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'We wouldn't have done it!' Hartley-Brewer shuts down Moran's attack on UK Brexit freedom - Express