Britain should highlight risk of economic damage in Ireland to get better Brexit deal, suggests Priti Patel

Former cabinet minister criticised over ‘morally reprehensible’ claims

Britain should use the potential damage to the Irish economy, including possible food shortages, to secure a better Brexit deal from the EU, a former cabinet minister has suggested.

Priti Patel, the former international development secretary, said the negative impact to Ireland’s economic infrastructure of a no-deal Brexit should have been exploited by the UK government during negotiations with Brussels.

The row came after a leaked government analysis reportedly suggested that Ireland would suffer greater economic damage than the UK if there is a no-deal Brexit.

Britain leaving the EU without an agreement would see Ireland hit with a 7 per cent drop in GDP, compared with 5 per cent for the UK, according to papers seen by The Times. Trade in perishables, including food, would be particularly affected.

Ms Patel's comments sparked a furious backlash, with other MPs claiming that using food shortages as a bargaining chip was deeply inappropriate, especially given Ireland’s history of famine.

One million people died during the country’s Great Famine between 1845 and 1849.

The leaked documents reportedly suggest that this is because Ireland is “a more open economy than the UK, accounting for 60 per cent of GDP comprised of goods imports and exports, as opposed to 40 per cent for Great Britain”.

Ireland is also heavily dependent on trade with the UK, with Britain accounting for 29.1 per cent of Irish imports and 13.1 per cent of exports.

Some 80 per cent of goods transported from Ireland to the EU via road also pass through the UK, according to the documents, meaning any fresh border checks would cause “challenges” and “political and social damage”.

Ms Patel said the government should have used the finding as a tactic during negotiations with the EU.

She said: “This paper appears to show the government were well aware Ireland will face significant issues in a no-deal scenario. Why hasn’t this point been pressed home during the negotiations? There is still time to go back to Brussels and get a better deal.”

Her comments were swiftly condemned by MPs from other parties.

Labour’s Lisa Nandy said: “Threatening Ireland in this way is as morally reprehensible as it is futile.

“Britain should be showing itself to be a dependable neighbour and friend in the future, and it is frightening that Brexiteers are even contemplating a move which could see stopping trade, including food supplies, being weaponised in this way, particularly given the uncomfortable historical echoes.”

SNP MP Stewart McDonald said: “It’s a particularly cruel and historically illiterate type that would think to threaten a friendly neighbouring country that saw 1 million of its citizens die as a result of famine – and a further 1 million to emigrate – with modern day food shortages. A deeply ugly side of Brexit.”

Ms Patel said her comments had been taken out of context and that she not referred specifically to the risk of food shortages. Rather, she said, she had been arguing that “ the consequences of not getting a favourable deal for all should help to focus minds”.

This article was updated on 11/12/18