Environment secretary tore report in two after his concerns were downplayed, says the Sun

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

An angry Michael Gove reportedly ripped up papers on post-Brexit customs options after his concerns about the proposals were downplayed.

The Sun reported that the environment secretary was so angry at the snub that he tore up a report on Theresa May’s plan for a new customs partnership with the EU at a meeting on Wednesday.



Brexiters like Gove oppose a customs partnership with the EU, which would involve the UK collecting tariffs set by the EU customs union on goods entering the country on behalf of the bloc.

Their preferred maximum facilitation (“max fac”) alternative would use technology to minimise the need for customs checks rather than scrapping them entirely.

May split an inner cabinet committee on Brexit into two groups to allow more work to be carried out on each option.

What’s trickier than Brexit? Writing a TV drama about it Read more

But after six weeks of meetings, a summary drawn up by civil servants on discussions about the customs partnership option favoured by the prime minister “downplayed to almost nothing” concerns raised by Gove, the Sun reported.



The newspaper’s claim that Gove was so “livid” that he “physically ripped” the document in two has not been disputed.

Both customs systems being considered by the cabinet have been dismissed by the EU.

Details of a white paper setting out the UK’s plans for issues including trade and customs will be discussed by cabinet ministers on Friday at Chequers and tensions over the deep divisions on how to proceed threaten to boil over.

The government continues to push the idea of keeping frictionless trade with Europe on goods, claiming that it would be a good deal for the EU, given the large trade surplus it enjoys.

However, May has been told by European leaders that an attempt to protect the UK’s industrial base by gaining single market access for goods alone after Brexit is a nonstarter.