'Two sides to a negotiation' Tory minister says EU could cut ties with UK on intelligence
SECURITY Minister Ben Wallace has said it is up to Brussels as to whether it wants to “allow” the UK to continue cooperating with the bloc on counter-terrorism.
Security Minister on post-Brexit counter terrorism negotiations
The politician said cooperation and information-sharing would be up for negotiation during Brexit talks and that the ball was in the court of the European Commission.
He suggested positions on security were not clear cut with “two sides to a negotiation” to take into account.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics, Mr Wallace said: “We want to continue in the same way we do now with our sharing and our cooperation with our European partners and friends.
“Because they will continue to be our friends and allies in attacking this scourge, that’s what we want, whether the European Commission want to allow us to do that – that’s a question you have to ask the Europeans.”
Ben Wallace said there were "two sides" to a negotiation
Nick Clegg: May's Brexit puts UK security at risk
My point is there are two sides to a negotiation around the table
Host John Pienaar pressed the Tory minister on the issue and asked if he was suggesting the European Commission “may not want cooperation on security”.
Mr Wallace replied: “No, my point is there are two sides to a negotiation around the table.
“This is what we want, we are some of the founding partners of Europe and one of the biggest contributors to Europol, absolutely.
“And the one thing I can say about the Eurosceptics, most Eurosceptics I know are also the authoritarians and are quite keen on that security.”
Theresa May and the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker
Pienaar then reminded the politician Brexiteers were “less keen” on the European Court of Justice, which “has a big role to play in overseeing disagreements and process when it comes to Europol”.
The comments come after former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg suggested Theresa May’s Brexit approach “poses a direct threat to national security”.
Mr Clegg believes that leaving the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) could hamper the abilities of British intelligence services in the fight against terror.
He said: “Theresa May's extreme approach to Brexit will have the direct consequence of severing our ties to a fantastically useful weapon in our armoury against terrorism.”