Stop Brexit blather and face reality on trade, says ex-EU ambassador

UK's former chief EU diplomat Sir Ivan Rogers takes aim at PM's Brexit strategy in speech

Britain must face reality on post-Brexit trade rather than continue the "buccaneering blather" of hard Brexiters, the UK's former chief EU diplomat Sir Ivan Rogers has said.

Rogers, the former chief Brussels adviser to both David Cameron and Theresa May, took aim at the prime minister's Brexit strategy in a forensic speech on Wednesday, but also criticised the plans of both hardline remainers and leavers, calling them "bluntly, delusional".

A customs union is an agreement by a group of countries, such as the EU, to all apply the same tariffs on imported goods from the rest of the world and, typically, eliminate them entirely for trade within the group. By doing this, they can help avoid the need for costly and time-consuming customs checks during trade between members of the union. Asian shipping containers arriving at Felixstowe or Rotterdam, for example, need only pass through customs once before their contents head to markets all over Europe. Lorries passing between Dover and Calais avoid delay entirely.