Jacob rees-mogg 'blasts' greg clark for 'promoting' project fear

Greg Clark warned thousands of British jobs in automotive and other manufacturing industries could be lost if the UK does not prevent friction in trade with the European Union. Jacob

Rees-Mogg, the Tory MP who leads the European Research Group of backbench Eurosceptics, skewered Mr Clark’s jobs warning by claiming it was one of “endless scare stories from Project Fear”.

Project Fear is the alleged scaremongering and pessimism employed by those in favour of remaining in the bitter bloc. The leading Brexiteer said: “Project Fear has been so thoroughly

discredited, you’d have thought it would have come to an end by now.” He also told ITV's Peston on Sunday: “The idea would be there would be a single point of entry for goods into the

UK, any of which could then go on into the EU, subject to tariffs being reclaimed if they stayed in the UK. “But for that to work, they’ve got to meet all the single market regulations as

well, and therefore the customs partnership is in a sense misnamed because it means the single market as well as the customs union and therefore we would not in effect be leaving the

European Union.” Mr Clark said the customs partnership model, in which the UK would collect import tariffs on behalf of the bloc, the ideal scenario preferred by Theresa May, would prevent

job losses. Sources from inside Downing Street denied speculation that No 10 had co-ordinated the effort. Mrs May had hoped her Cabinet committee would reach a decision about customs last

Wednesday, before an important EU summit at the end of June, but the engagement was held at deadlock. Mr Clark strongly denied claims that he had been close to tears during the

two-and-a-half hour meeting. Cabinet ministers had disobeyed the Prime Minister after she set out her preference for a customs partnership over a second option, known as maximum facilitation

or “max-fac”, which was backed by Brexiteers. JACOB REES-MOGG: PROJECT FEAR HAS BEEN THOROUGHLY DISCREDITED GETTY Greg Clark warned thousands of British jobs could be lost Supporters of the

partnership model say that it would solve the Irish border issue. But supporters of the max-fac option say it would give the UK greater independence over its own tariffs. Mrs May has asked

officials to revisit both proposals, which were first brought to the table last August. GETTY Jacob Rees-Mogg skewered Greg Clark’s jobs warning Both options have been labelled as unworkable

by the EU.