- Chancellor Philip Hammond expects to leave government as new PM takes over
- He warned that the EU will be able to control how bad a No Deal Brexit is for UK
- France could simply 'dial up' delays at Calais to cause chaos at ports, he said
Britain will be at the mercy of Emmanuel Macron if there is No Deal Brexit, Philip Hammond warned today.
The Chancellor dismissed Boris Johnson's claims the UK can control the fallout from failure to reach an agreement with the EU - saying the bloc holds 'many of the levers' needed to minimise damage.
He said France could 'dial up' delays at Calais to cause chaos at ports like Dover.
Mr Hammond is expecting to leave government next week, when Mr Johnson is the hot favourite to take over from Theresa May as PM.
Philip Hammond (pictured at No11 last week) dismissed Boris Johnson's claims the UK can control the fallout from No Deal
But he has vowed to keep fighting to avoid No Deal, after delivering some of the most blood-curdling warnings from ministers over the consequences.
Earlier this month Mr Hammond angered Brexiteers by highlighting fears the Treasury would take a £90billion hit from leaving without an agreement.
Mr Johnson has insisted that Brexit must happen by October 31 'come what may', saying the impact of No Deal could be 'vanishingly inexpensive' if the UK prepares properly.
But in an interview for a BBC Panorama programme being broadcast on Thursday, Mr Hammond said the impact should not be played down.
Asked if the UK can control No Deal, he said: 'We can't because many of the levers are held by others - the EU 27 or private business. We can seek to persuade them but we can't control it.'
He added: 'For example, we can make sure that goods flow inwards through the port of Dover without any friction but we can't control the outward flow into the port of Calais.
'The French can dial that up or dial it down, just the same as the Spanish for years have dialled up or dialled down the length of the queues at the border going into Gibraltar.'
Mr Johnson (pictured at Tory hustings in Essex yesterday) has insisted that Brexit must happen by October 31 'come what may'
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