Brexit: Former chancellor Philip Hammond backs bid to keep UK in customs union

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Yes, I could support a customs union,” he told Sky News, arguing it would “overcome the problem” in the prime minister’s deal. Mr Hammond’s move lays bare the reason for Mr Johnson’s refusal to allow full scrutiny of his “paused” Withdrawal Agreement Bill and push for a general election instead. The former chancellor warned Mr Johnson’s deal “splits Northern Ireland” from Great Britain, saying: “If the whole of the UK is in a customs union, then the whole of the UK would be treated the same and the threat to the union in Northern Ireland would be gone.” And he pointed to the risk of a crash-out Brexit, adding: “That applies as much to a no-deal exit at the end of 2020 as it does to a no-deal exit at the end of 2019.” On Saturday, a government minister heightened fears of a “trapdoor” in little over a year – if a hard Brexit is pursued – admitting no deal would ‘always” be an option. Instead, he called for “proper scrutiny” of the bill, adding: “The government should stop making threats, stop throwing tantrums and get on with the grown-up business of doing its business.” The former chancellor also confirmed he planned to stand as an independent at the next election, if the Tory whip is not restored, saying: “That’s my intention, yes.” He said: “I am not going to change what I say, what I believe, is important about Britain’s future in any kind of attempt to sneak back in.” However, Mr Hammond backed away from support for a Final Say referendum to decide the Brexit outcome, despite previously describing the idea as “coherent”.