The former head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has accused British politicians of misleading the public over the realities of Brexit and insists there will have to be a border in Ireland.

Pascal Lamy who was head of the WTO between 2005-2013, told Sky News that while things had improved since the referendum, UK politicians "still a long way to go" in being honest with voters.

Asked if the Prime Minister and others were misleading the public, Mr Lamy said. "Yes. I believe that was true during the campaign and is still true today.

Image: Pascal Lamy says 'there will be a cost'

"Although a bit less true. There has been some crab walking, talking having to pay a bill, there might be a transition two year period which are signs of moves, in direction of reality but in my view still a long way to go."

"I am not saying that this [Brexit] is hell, I'm saying it is less good than heaven and there is a long distance between less good than heaven and hell.


"It will have a cost which needs to be recognised properly before we try and reduce it."

Mr Lamy, speaking in Dublin, dismissed suggestions that there could be a no-border in Ireland.

The post-Brexit Irish border issue

The former EU Commissioner said "No, this vocabulary of creative, flexible, seamless, cost less, infrastructureless border is much about poetry.

"It's a way to call something because you don't want to call it reality. With my trade experience, I can see, no, no-cost border.

"There will have to be a border, i.e. a cost, whatever shape it takes there will be a cost."

Many Brexit supporters have suggested Britain could easily trade under WTO rules with little impact, however Mr. Lamy suggested there would be an economic impact.

:: Micheal Martin: Brexit makes hard Irish border 'inevitable'

"It's clearly a suboptimal outcome, the best outcome is certainly a deal which will allow both UK and Europe to adjust to the new situation.

"Let's look at trade, it would mean 10% tariff on cars, whatever tariffs on sugar, cheese, spirits, which would be clearly worse situation that clearly have a trade agreement."

Speaking to Sky News at the Institute for International and European Affairs, the self-described European integrationist said he believed Brexit was a process and not a negotiation.

"I've been in negotiations for a long time in my professional life. A negotiation is something where you trade off something - I'll give you something you give me something, I'll give you more of this if you give me more of that. This is not what Brexit is about.

"Brexit is getting the UK egg out of the EU basket. This is not a negotiation but a process which needs to be handled in such a way that its inevitable cost is as muted as possible.

"I don't see what the UK could give to the EU which would smooth the process that the EU could gain."