Ex-Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accusing him of "repeatedly betraying" the UK's vote to leave the European Union as he prepares for negotiations with Brussels.
Habib's comments come as Starmer faces scrutiny over his approach to EU relations following a limited trade agreement with the United States.
The deal, announced by Starmer and US President Donald Trump, maintains 10 per cent tariffs on British exports while reducing higher tariffs on steel and cars.
Habib characterised the Prime Minister's upcoming EU summit as "a complete sell-out" of the United Kingdom.
Ben Habib fumed at the "betrayal"
GB NEWS
"The aim of this summit is to dress it up as if he's securing some kind of defence pact with the European Union, in return for which he'll give up even more of our fishing rights, more freedom of movement," he told GB News.
He claimed the reality was far worse, asserting that Starmer will "give up our military, give up our borders, give up our fish, give up our regulatory autonomy, and adopt EU law on sanitary and phytosanitary regulations".
He said: "Let’s just get one thing straight: this is being painted as a trade-off for cooperation in defence. Actually, the entire summit is a sellout of the United Kingdom.
"Our vote to leave the EU has been repeatedly betrayed since June 23rd, 2016. We never truly left the EU. One of the reasons he [Starmer] can now drag us back in in the way he’s about to is because we never properly left in the first place.
"The aim of this summit is to dress it up as if he’s securing some kind of defence pact with the European Union, in return for which he’ll give up even more more of our fishing rights, more freedom of movement.
"The reality is, he’s going to give up our military, give up our borders, give up our fish, give up our regulatory autonomy, and adopt EU law on sanitary and phytosanitary regulations all while making us more subject to the European Court of Justice.
"So we’ll have a foreign court making judicial rulings in the United Kingdom, thanks to the increased regulatory alignment he’s going to bring in with this summit. It’s a complete sellout."
Meanwhile, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has suggested that Gibraltar's status could be linked to broader EU negotiations.Reports have also emerged that some European countries want UK concessions on fishing rights as part of any defence deal.
The Government is set to host EU leaders in London next week
ReutersThe Government is set to host EU leaders in London next week as part of its latest ‘reset’ with the very institution Britons voted to leave in 2016.
The Prime Minister is hoping to strike an agreement on British access to a £126.4billion defence fund.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Albares said: "I think the relationship between UK and European Union, it's a comprehensive relation, a global relation, not just a pick-and-choose relation."
However, the UK dismissed the idea of any substantial constitutional change, insisting: "Gibraltar will always remain part of the British family."
