Foreign Office turf war breaks out between Boris Johnson and Liam Fox

Boris Johnson and Liam Fox are fighting for control of the UK's foreign policy and the responsibility for implementing Brexit, according to a series of leaked emails between the two ministers.

The messages from Fox, the International Trade Secretary, to Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, effectively demand the Foreign Office be broken up.

In one email leaked to the Daily Telegraph, Fox suggests British trade with other countries will not "flourish" if responsibility for future economic policy remains with the Foreign Office.

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"It has become clear to me that existing cross-Whitehall structures have meant that the government has not taken the holistic approach it might have on trade and investment agendas," he said.

The emails, which were also copied in to Prime Minister Theresa May, added that a "rational restructuring" should result in the Foreign Office transferring responsibility for economic diplomacy to the Department for International Trade, "allowing the FCO [Foreign & Commonwealth Office] to retain clear leadership on diplomacy and security".

'Short shrift' from No 10

The PM is said to be unimpressed with Fox's intervention, with Whitehall sources saying the letter "went down like a lead balloon". The Independent reports he was "given short shrift by Downing Street after Johnson objected to being asked to preside over a diminished Foreign Office".

One Whitehall source said: "There was no way that the Foreign Office was going to surrender one of its key functions to Liam Fox."

The letter "represents the first evidence of significant tensions between the Eurosceptic Cabinet ministers", says the Telegraph, and comes after Johnson was forced to share Chevening House, the country home of the foreign secretary, with Fox and Brexit Secretary David Davis.

Davis has already provoked anger within other departments by saying he will have the pick of the "most brilliant people" from across Whitehall to work in his new Department for Exiting the European Union.

The leak is the second embarrassment for Fox in less than a week, after a press release appeared on his department's website saying that, after Brexit, the UK would trade with the EU under World Trade Organisation rules "until new trade deals are negotiated". That would mean businesses exporting to the EU would have to pay heavy tariffs, including ten per cent on cars and 12 per cent on clothing.

The press release, which was quickly taken down, was said to have been posted "by mistake".

No Brexit until 2019?

The UK could remain in the EU "until late 2019" after ministers warned senior figures in the City of London that the Brexit and International trade departments will not be ready to enact Article 50 in January, The Sunday Times reported yesterday.

Sources also cited upcoming French and German elections as a cause for delay, saying: "You can't negotiate when you don't know who you're negotiating with."

The "prospect of a year's delay will anger hardline Eurosceptic Conservative MPs and Leave voters who expected a speedy Brexit", the paper says.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage warned that failure to deliver on the EU referendum result and curb immigration could lead to mass demonstrations on the streets.