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Brexiteer says UK now ‘stronger’ in Brexit talks - because they will be in London

Iain Duncan-Smith on Sky News. Photograph: Sky. Archant

Iain Duncan Smith has claimed the UK will have a ‘stronger hand’ in Brexit talks, because they will be held in London.

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The Brexiteer MP, who sounded less than sure of himself last month when he claimed the UK now needs the help of experts, has claimed the EU is showing 'weakness'.

Speaking to talkRADIO, he claimed that it was 'finally dawning on the EU' that the government will 'for the most part get whatever it wants done'.

He claimed that the fact talks are taking place in London rather than Brussels shows the UK is now in a 'much stronger position'.

He said it was a 'key bit' for the UK government, because such a move will 'put the power back in London's hands'.

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Asked by Julia Hartley-Brewer, whether what desk is used really mattered, he compared it to the end of Vietnam war.

'Yes, yes, they matter massively. You may remember at the end of the Vietnam war... negotiations to end the war they spent about two years or whatever discussing the shape of the table, it mattered that much who people sat next to, and who they didn't sit next to'.

He continued: 'So these things do matter because at the end of the day your power and potency in a negotiation is a matter of lots of different things and one of them is a demonstration that we are different from what we were.

'We were very weak before, we're now much, much stronger and it is Europe I think that is somewhat more weak.'