Thread by @adampayne26

Here at @instituteforgov where former UK rep to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, is going to be speaking about Brexit and HMG’s handling of it very shortly

Sir Ivan Rogers kicks off by saying UK-EU trade negotiations are the first he can think of in history in which 2 sides seek "to get further apart"

He says that every other trade negotiation is about "converging and dismantling barriers to trade" — but Brexit is the opposite

Rogers says that people around Theresa May at the start of the Article 50 process "didn't know very much about European Councils or that much about the EU"

Rogers say that many HMG documents are "highly entertaining to read" because they include a "litany of things" about EU membership that the UK wants to keep

Ivan Rogers sticks a boot into Labour's Brexit policy, telling #IfGBrexit that being in a long-term customs union with the EU "isn't sustainable" for the UK

Rogers says that HMG needs to be much more transparent in the future trade talks

"You can't operate in the way this government has operated when it comes to trade negotiations"

Rogers says he is "very worried" about services and that it is "the worst part" of Theresa May's deal with the EU, in response to a Q by Tory MP Jo Johnson

"She has prioritised goods over services even though it's a modest proportion of the economy"

Rogers dismisses suggestions that Whitehall is overly negative about Brexit, says officials are being honest about the situation

"Don't kid yourself. Leaving the single market and customs union is a very serious change to UK economic policy making"

Sir Ivan Rogers says there is "zero" appetite for the Malthouse plan in Europe

Sir Ivan Roger says the Malthouse plan isn't a serious proposal, would get immediately rejected in Brussels, and encourages advocates to "dream on"

Rogers says that the UK & EU know there is no chance of no-deal Brexit being the long-term end state, as the UK would quickly come back to the negotiating table

"There is not a world where we are going to end up with no-deal"

Just asked Rogers whether he thinks there ought to be a public inquiry into HMG's handling of Brexit

He says he doesn't think an official inquiry would help in healing the country but adds, "The system must be going through a hell of a lot of reflection"

Here's Sir Ivan's Rogers' full response to my question of whether he thinks there will/ought to be a public inquiry into the UK government's handling of Brexit

Brexit is a national 'crisis' which may need a public inquiry, says former UK ambassador to the EU

A little write-up of Sir Ivan Rogers' conversation with the @instituteforgov businessinsider.com/ivan-rogers-br…