Free trade deal championed by former foreign secretary is ‘not on offer’ from the EU, says chancellor

Philip Hammond has insisted the “SuperCanada” Brexit plan, backed by rebel Conservatives including Boris Johnson, is “not on offer” from the EU.

As the chancellor prepared to deliver his speech at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, he hit back at the activists at the conference centre handing out “chuck Chequers” badges and calling instead for a Canada-style free trade deal.

“The problem is, it’s not available – it’s not on offer,” he told the BBC’s Today programme on Monday. “The EU have been absolutely clear from the beginning of this negotiation that they would not be prepared to offer a free-trade agreement, Canada-style, for the whole of the UK, because to do so would create a hard border in Ireland.”

He added: “The only free trade agreement that the EU is prepared to talk to us about is one that splits the UK; and the PM has been clear, and I am 100% behind her on this, that we will not negotiate anything that will break up our United Kingdom.”

The chancellor’s remarks formed part of a fightback by pro-Chequers ministers against an onslaught from hard Brexiters in recent days. Greg Clark, the business secretary, warned on Sunday that frictionless trade was essential for preserving Britain’s leading role in key industries including carmaking.

Theresa May is keen for her party to stop squabbling over Brexit and spend the next three days in Birmingham displaying their commitment to reforming Britain.

But after the awkward Salzburg summit, when EU leaders rejected key aspects of the Chequers plan, there are clear divisions in her own party over how to proceed.

Jacob Rees-Mogg addressed a packed rally in Birmingham on Sunday night, comparing the prime minister’s negotiating position to “a dying duck in a thunderstorm”. Other opponents of her plan will be prominent in Birmingham, with former ministers David Davis and Priti Patel speaking at several fringe events.

Hammond hit out at Johnson, the former foreign secretary who has been touring TV studios advocating his “SuperCanada” approach. This would entail a looser trading relationship without the “common rulebook” central to Chequers.

Echoing remarks he made in a damning Daily Mail interview, Hammond told the BBC: “Boris Johnson is a big picture man, a big character on the political stage, and this is a very detailed, complex negotiation. It doesn’t require big, sweeping statements, it requires meticulous attention to the negotiating strategy.”

He played down divisions over Europe, saying: “No one has ever tried to conceal the fact that we have differences of opinion about this issue – about how we should go about leaving the European Union – but beyond that, there is much more that unites us than divides us.”

The chancellor also said tax rises would be needed to properly fund the NHS. He told Today: “The prime minister has always been very clear, very open and very honest about the fact that, if we want a well-funded NHS fit for the future, we will have to find a little more tax to fund it in the future and I shall say more in my next budget.”

Ignoring a question about whether there would be any “Brexit dividend”, he nevertheless said part of his calculations included the fact “we will not be sending large sums of money to Brussels every year”.

Hammond will use his speech on Monday to recommit the Tories to supporting British business, with a defence of “21st-century capitalism” as the best way of creating jobs and wealth.