Raab: Stop blaming Brexit for poor business performance
Brexit secretary Dominic Raab today told businesses to stop blaming Brexit for poor performance and “take responsibility”.
His comments come in the wake of John Lewis posting a 99 per cent drop in profits in its half-year results this morning, which it partly attributed to Brexit.
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“It’s rather easy at this moment in time for any business that isn’t doing rather well to point to Brexit,” Raab said on Radio 4’s Today programme.
“I don’t doubt that some of the uncertainty around these negotiations will have an impact on business,” he added, “that’s why we’re putting all our energy into getting the good deal we want.
“All I’m just gently saying is that it’s rather easy for a business to blame Brexit and the politicians rather than to take responsibility for their own situation.”
John Lewis Partnership warned that full-year profits would be “substantially lower than last year”, citing “the level of uncertainty facing consumers and the economy, in part due to ongoing Brexit negotiations”.
In the same interview Raab admitted that a no deal scenario would create risks for British businesses and citizens, such as border disruption at Dover.
Read more: John Lewis profits tumble 99 per cent amid discount 'extravaganza' market
He also said the UK wouldn’t pay the whole £39bn Brexit divorce bill if the UK falls out of the EU without a deal, adding: “We would be saying very clearly that beyond our strict legal obligations, what was agreed as part of those negotiations falls away.”
His comments come as Prime Minister Theresa May gathers her cabinet today for a three-hour “no deal” planning session, with contingency plans for driving licences and passports prepared for publication – the second tranche of contingency notices to be released by the government.
They will cover around 30 areas including mobile phone roaming charges and environment standards.