Government ministers call the Airbus warning ‘part of a new Project Fear’. They would do well to take this warning seriously.
Shortly before his death, I sat with one of the team who had negotiated the agreement for Broughton to manufacture the wings of these multinational European projects. He told me of the determination, of the French, the Spanish, the Germans and the Italians to capture these contracts. The British team was subjected to hard questioning, and very hard bargaining. It was only when my friend produced from his briefcase signed affidavits from supplying companies that they could guarantee supplies of the goods of the quality demanded that the opposition (which had not had the foresight to plan such affidavits) collapsed, and the production of the wings arrived in Britain.
Politicians say that Airbus is too well-rooted in the UK. Wait a moment – visit the wings factory, and it is a building, and manufacturing parts, and machines which were assembled on site. It would be easy to rebuild anywhere in Europe. Airbus, BMW, Jaguar LandRover, Nissan and Toyota employ thousands directly, and hundreds of thousands in allied jobs.
The warnings are not Project Fear – they are realistic forecasting. If Remainers are part of Project Fear, then Brexiters are leading Project Blindfold.
Mark J Philpot
Mold
Airbus will be leaving the UK if there’s a no-deal Brexit. Why is there no news about organisations lining up to do deals once we’ve left the EU? Is that because there aren’t any?
Tony Howarth
London SW3
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