David Davis: ‘Take inspiration for Brexit talks from my SAS days’
Former Brexit secretary and Brexiteer David Davis MP. Photograph: Wiktor Dabkowski - Credit: DPA/PA Images
Dangerous David Davis hopes to inspire Brexit negotiators with advice from his SAS days but has warned no-deal will cause 'immediate harm'.
The former Brexit secretary, who walked out of government over the prime minister's Chequers plan, told a fringe event at Conservative conference 'we shouldn't frighten ourselves to death'.
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But, in hope of inspiring Britain to come out fighting, he added some advice he was given while on an interrogation course during his Territorial Army SAS days: 'The only thing that will defeat you on this is your own imagination.'
The hard-line Brexiteer added though that there would be 'immediate harm' on both sides if Britain crashed out of Europe without a deal.
But he claimed things would be resolved swiftly.
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And heightening the war of words between the Treasury and Brexiteers he also claimed chancellor Philip Hammond used forecasts he knew were inaccurate during preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
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He said: 'It used to drive me mad sometimes when government ministers, I'll name no names but you can make a very easy guess, he's been on the air today, we'd get to a negotiation point and suddenly somebody over here would start saying, 'Oh, we are in a terrible problem here, we can't do this, we can't do that, we are in difficulty, all these companies are going to leave the country'.
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'No they are not.'
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