It was revealed over the weekend that, in
a break from normal practice for the current government, officials in the
Department for International Trade had been caught out giving honest and
accurate advice to businesses hit by the new rules on trade following Brexit.
It seems that firms reeling under the impact of additional customs and border
control red tape which asked the Department for assistance to get round the
rules were told
that there was no way of doing so, that the rules aren’t going to be changed
any time soon, and the best thing for those businesses to do was to close the
relevant parts of their businesses in the UK and set up new operations inside
the EU.
The affair raises serious questions over
the future of International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss. Whilst incompetence is
regarded as standard operating practice, and the ability of ministers to lie
repeatedly direct to camera is highly valued by the PM, there is considerable
doubt as to how long he will tolerate any minister who is found to be in charge
of a department giving out honest information. Some are even wondering whether
the government itself can survive a bout of honesty without imploding. However, those expecting
swift action to deal with this breach of protocol are likely to be disappointed.
There are currently no signs that the PM is going to break his long-standing
habit of prevarication just because one minister has been caught out defying
his expectations.
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