May warns EU leaders: Sticking to doctrine threatens public security
Theresa May will today warn EU leaders public safety will be put at risk if they let political ideology stand in the way of post-Brexit international security arrangements.
If the priority of Brexit talks is to impose political doctrine that avoids co-operation there will be "damaging real world consequences for the security of all our people, in the UK and the EU", she will say.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the Prime Minister will urge countries to show "real political will".
Post-Brexit security arrangements have yet to be decided. Currently, EU nations work closely together to fight organised crime and terrorism with initiatives such as the European Arrest Warrant – which speeds up extradition between member states.
Ministers want Britain's current security arrangements to be replicated in a legal framework after the country leaves the EU next year.
May will say: "This cannot be a time when any of us allow competition between partners, rigid institutional restrictions or deep-seated ideology to inhibit our co-operation and jeopardise the security of our citizens.
"We must do whatever is most practical and pragmatic in ensuring our collective security."
Read more: Theresa May and Leo Varadkar plan frictionless Irish border solution
Damaging
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Britain's status cannot be exactly the same but she wanted relations to be "as close as possible".
The Prime Minister will say: "If the priority in the negotiations becomes avoiding any kind of new co-operation with a country outside the EU, then this political doctrine and ideology will have damaging real world consequences for the security of all our people, in the UK and the EU.
"As leaders, we cannot let that happen."
May's speech drew criticism from Remain MPs, who said the Prime Minister is pursuing a Brexit deal with the "deepest level of irony".
“Her reckless threat to use security co-operation as a way of trying to blackmail the EU into giving her a deal will only poison the negotiating well yet further. It also totally undermines her statement that the UK is committed to European security ‘unconditionally’," said Home Affairs Select Committee member Stephen Doughty – a leading supporter of the Open Britain campaign.
“No-one voted in the referendum to weaken our security or hurt our ability fight crime and terrorism. Given this, everyone is entitled to keep an open mind about whether Brexit is the right path for the country.”
Read more: Exclusive: Gove-Johnson split prompts fears of soft Brexit among pro-Leave MPs
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