A Cabinet minister told an interviewer to "get a life" when asked about claims that smoky bacon crisps could be banned as part of a new food and farming deal that Andy Burnham is set to sign with the European Union this month.
The Prime Minister is due to sign the agreement with Brussels negotiators at the UK-EU summit on November 20. Concerns have been raised over whether smoky bacon crisps may fall short of EU regulations, as laws prohibit the use of "meaty" terms to describe vegetarian food.
Minister Dismisses Crisp Ban Claims
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle expressed exasperation when asked about the report, likening it to the Brexit debate about bendy bananas that was widely discussed by Brexiteers at the time of the referendum.
Asked whether the deal could lead to bans on the labelling of the bacon crisps, Dame Angela told Times Radio host Stig Abell: "Oh, Stig. I mean, really, we've had EU straight bananas, and now we're talking about banning smoky bacon crisps, I think you should get a life."
She added: "This is actually about ensuring that we can do business with our closest neighbours. We've got huge potential growth in our economy if we allow our farmers and food producers to be able to export into Europe again without all the huge uncertainty and the costs and frictions that Brexit brought us."
Economic Benefits of the Deal
Dame Angela said the deal would improve that situation and enable the economy to grow, leading to "higher levels of prosperity than we've had before." She declined to commit to giving farmers more time to adapt to new trading arrangements with the EU, arguing that removing post-Brexit barriers as quickly as possible would bring "huge economic benefits".
Pressed on why the Government had rejected farmers' calls for a 24-month transition period to prepare for changes, she said ministers were listening closely to their concerns. She told the BBC's Today programme: "The transition is a balance between getting and accessing those benefits as quickly as possible, but dealing with some of the transitional issues that you have to deal with whenever you're moving from one system to another."
Burnham's GDP Estimate and Barnier's Comments
Mr Burnham has said that the deals to be agreed at the UK-EU summit could raise GDP by 0.4%, up from the previous estimate of 0.3%.
Former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier suggested the UK could rejoin the EU without having to adopt the euro, but would have to accept freedom of movement and membership of the single market. Mr Barnier, who led the EU team during the divorce proceedings between the UK and Brussels, told Sky News: "I always thought during the Brexit negotiations that the door will remain open. If it is the choice of the UK to ask for a new negotiation to rejoin, it's perfectly possible to begin such a negotiation without any kind of obligation to take part in the euro."
Asked whether that meant there was wiggle room in the EU's normal requirement for new member states to take the currency, he said: "Yes. But what is and what remains unnegotiable is the condition to join the single market. There is no … possible negotiation on any kind of cherry-picking or the single market 'a la carte'. The UK knows quite perfectly the condition to be part and to rejoin the single market and the customs union."
