UK foreign secretary downplays EU payment suggestions
LONDON — Britain’s foreign secretary dismissed as “speculation” suggestions that the U.K. would pay for tariff-free trade with the European Union after it leaves the bloc.
Boris Johnson’s comments Sunday in an interview with the BBC came after David Davis, the minister in charge of negotiating Britain’s exit from the EU, said the government might be willing to pay for continued access to the market of 500 million people.
“That is obviously something that David Davis is considering,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t mean that a decision has been taken.”
When pressed, he said Davis’ suggestion was “speculation.”