Secret Plot Exposed: Tories' Plan to Use Nafta to Withdraw from EU

Conservative senior members have been secretly working with a powerful US senate committee to prepare the ground for Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, sparking fresh doubts about William Hague's ability to hold his party together over Europe. The plan, led by Eurosceptic frontbenchers such as John Redwood and Iain Duncan Smith, aims to use the North American free trade area as a way to move towards a unilateral decision to leave the EU. Foreign secretary Robin Cook has seized on the secret plan to claim that the Conservatives' policy of "withdrawal by stealth" has been exposed.

Key Takeaways:

• A group of senior Eurosceptic Tory frontbenchers, including John Redwood and Iain Duncan Smith, have played a leading role in persuading a US senate committee to investigate the possibility of Britain unilaterally joining the North American free trade area.
• The Conservative party's shadow chancellor, Michael Portillo, and the rightwing backbencher Eric Forth are also involved in the secret plan to use Nafta to withdraw from the EU.
• The US senate's finance committee has launched an investigation into possible British membership of Nafta after intense lobbying from the group.
• William Hague's party leader has dismissed claims that he is secretly working to get Britain to join Nafta, saying that the party believes in joining the North American free trade area through the European Union.
• Pro-Europeans believe that the Eurosceptic Tories have succeeded in pushing forward their "withdrawal agenda" by persuading the US senate that Britain could make a unilateral decision to join Nafta.
• Foreign office officials will stress the constitutional impossibility of Britain joining Nafta without leaving the EU when they meet with US commission officials next week.
• 52.7% of Britain's exports go to EU countries, while only 17% of trade is with Nafta, emphasizing the risks of membership.
• The disclosure of the role of senior Conservatives in the Nafta investigation will once again focus attention on Mr Hague's commitment to Europe.
• William Hague's lurch towards extreme Euroscepticism was largely put down to pressure from Lady Thatcher and her public support for a withdrawal bill introduced by Lord Pearson of Rannoch.

Statistics:

• 52.7% of Britain's exports go to EU countries.
• 17% of Britain's trade is with Nafta.
• 52.7% minus 17% equals 35.7% - the proportion of Britain's trade that is not with the EU or Nafta.
• US senate's finance committee has launched an investigation into possible British membership of Nafta.
• The foreign secretary, Robin Cook, claims that William Hague is prepared to jeopardize a very large number of British jobs for the sake of satisfying his party's extreme anti-European prejudices.

Sources:

• The Guardian, "Secret plot hatched by Tories to prepare ground for EU withdrawal", Nicholas Watt
• BBC News, "US Senate investigates Britain's Nafta membership", James Gallagher