Thread by @jillongovt

so the second of @UKandEU #Brexitwitnessarchive interviews is with @OwenPaterson - done well before the events of the autumn. Another leading Brexit supporter who was @DefraGovUK and @NIOgov SoS under David Cameron. Let's dive in

Paterson was a linguist and businessman working across Europe. Whereas it was the EU's treatment of Greece that pushed Davis to support Leave, for Paterson it was the treatment of former Communist countries

Bonus first Johnson sighting there. A very honest answer on the impact of Cameron@s Bloomberg speech (remember Paterson was in the Cabinet then

and why as SoS he never through Brexit would cause a problem with the Irish border

He has some interesting stories of negotiations on agriculture in Brussels (including encounters with the "very good" Irish Ag Minister who went on to greater things @simoncoveney

and those experiences confirmed his view of the need to "take back control"

Paterson disputes @ShippersUnbound account of the setup of Vote Leave.. his version

But a bit later he stepped back.. but he saw the way the mood was going

he has a lot of people in his sights when setting out how the Establishment tried to frustrate the referendum result

Paterson chaired the alternative arrangements working group.. and hates the NI Protocol

His view on the weaponisation of NI - and on Ireland

As someone who speaks German and goes to Germany often, Paterson is interesting on the non-meeting of minds between UK eurosceptics and Germany

Paterson's worries if Parliament had frustrated #brexit

Interesting insight into why he voted for the protocol first time round in the Johnson withdrawal agreement.

and how? its back to alternative arrangements

and why he abstained on the final deal

read the whole interview here. ukandeu.ac.uk/brexit-witness…