The instructions to civil servants were to say “Brexit” no more and use the date of 31 December 2020 to describe the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Whitehall’s style guide advises employees to refrain from using the term ‘Brexit’. It should be avoided if it is necessary in a historical context.
Employees were told by the British Embassy to avoid the phrase “transition Period”, as it refers to the period when Brussels and Britain worked together to determine the terms for their future relations.
The EU was threatening to torpedo post-Brexit trade deals with the UK, if Liz Truss continues to threaten to unilaterally sever Northern Ireland’s border regulations.
The Civil Service has been instructed to cease using the word ‘Brexit’, and instead use the date of 31 December 2020 to reference the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Whitehall staff are advised by a’style guide” to steer clear of the use of the word “Brexit”, arguing that it should only ever be used in historical contexts.
The Government’s ‘style guide’ entry for Brexit, first spotted by The Telegraph, states that civil servants ‘can use the term “Brexit” to provide historical context, but it’s better to use specific dates where possible’.
This article states, “For instance, use 31 December 2020 rather than Brexit or when the UK has left the EU,” “before 31 Dec 2020” not “during the transitional period”, “after 01 January 2021”, and “after the transitional period” as opposed to “during”.
This guidance from the Government is expected to provoke a backlash by Brexiteer Conservative MPs.
The “style guide” entry emerged as tensions increased between the UK and EU over Northern Ireland’s border dispute.
Both sides are currently in negotiations for several months, trying to find a way to solve the problems resulting from the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The EU has repeatedly refused to yield to ministers’ threats to trigger Article 16 in order to unilaterally repeal the rules.
After Lord Frost’s resignation, Ms Truss was given control over the negotiation process and she has remained firm in her threat.
Maros Sefcovic from the EU, however, stated that the threat of Article 16 being activated is interfering with the negotiations.
German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that the vice president of the European Commission said to him, “You try to do something together but – boom! – there’s always the threat from Article 16 again.”
According to Mr Sefcovic, the protocol is the most complex element of Brexit negotiations. It is also the basis of the entire deal. These comments are likely to have been interpreted in London to suggest a subtle threat to cancel the trade agreement if Britain suspends border rules.
If Liz Truss does not respond to threats to unilaterally sever Northern Ireland border regulations, the EU will threaten to derail the post-Brexit trade agreement with the UK
Sefcovic stated that “without the protocol, it collapses”, and must be stopped at all costs.
The protocol was negotiated as part of the Brexit deal to avoid a hard border with Ireland, by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods.
Because of its trade barriers that it placed on Irish Sea products coming from Great Britain, unionists insist it be removed.
The UK and EU are likely to resume talks on Brexit next month.