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Brexit Bulletin: Olly Robbins bites back at Brussels

Olly Robbins - Bloomberg
Olly Robbins - Bloomberg

Good afternoon.

As Theresa May’s right-hand man for the Brexit negotiations, Oliver Robbins tends to operate below the radar. Sir Bill Cash has been trying for a while to get him to answer questions before his European Scrutiny Committee, even resorting to asking the prime minister in the Commons to use her “charm” to persuade him to appear. The mandarin has since responded to the arch-Eurosceptic’s invitation to say he won’t actually attend, but will go and talk to Hilary Benn’s Brexit committee instead in July.

Confirmation about Mr Robbins’ public scrutiny comes as he has stepped up to defend British negotiators after they were accused by their European counterparts of “chasing the fantasy” in their approach to the talks. British proposals had been “calmly and professionally presented”, he wrote in a second ever message on Twitter.

Britain’s negotiating effort may get the Robbins seal of approval, but it gets a worse review from Eurosceptics. Jeremy Hosking, a major Brexit-backing Tory donor, has told my colleague Christopher Hope on his latest edition of his eponymous podcast that he fears the talks “resemble a Greek tragedy and it only ends when everyone is dead”. Mrs May needs to be replaced “as soon as possible”, he warned, adding that “the strategy is not working”. Brexiteers may be surprised to find themselves agreeing with the EU on how British negotiators are doing then.

In the meantime, British MEPs are learning that they will not be able to quit on Brexit day, as a report commissioned by the European Parliament found that they will be “legally required” to complete their mandates and work for about eight weeks after the UK leaves the EU next March. Nigel Farage thought it was a joke at first, and insisted he will not staying after the UK leaves.

My colleague James Crisp has found that the former Ukip leader might make his final appearance in Brussels by joining Ukippers in cheering and pop champagne in front of the TV cameras when MEPs gather to haul down the UK flag from outside the European Parliament. Most MEPs will treat it as a solemn moment, but a Ukip spokesman said “it will be, certainly for Ukip MEPs, a day of celebration".

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