Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said he "did not quite understand" the importance of the Dover-Calais crossing

Dominic Raab was ridiculed after stating that he "had not quite understood" the importance of cross-Channel trade for the British economy.

The extraordinary admission occurred when the Brexit Secretary also warned buyers to expect fewer product choices if leaving the EU was damaging the commercial route from France.

Speaking at an event for tech companies, Mr. Raab said Theresa May was looking for a future trade agreement recognizing the "special geographical economic entity" of the United Kingdom, as a island nation.

"I did not quite understand everything that was going on, but if you look at UK merchandise trade, we are particularly dependent on the Dover-Calais crossing," he said.

"And that's one of the reasons why we wanted to make sure we had a specific and very close relationship with the EU, to ensure a smooth trade at the border."

The comment sparked contempt from scientist and broadcaster Brian Cox, who tweeted, "How could Dominic Raab be surprised that our main commercial gateway is the one that is geographically closest to our most important market?"

Nicky Morgan, the former Conservative minister who advocates a soft Brexit, simply tweeted: "Gulp '#enoughsaid".

And Jo Stevens, a supporter of the anti-Brexit Best group for Britain, said, "These comments are shocking.

"We have finally admitted what we have always known – that the Brexiteers did not really think about the consequences of leaving the EU.

"British jobs, supplies and services depend on major border crossings such as the Dover Strait and the fact that Brexit's secretary realizes that this is a serious source of worry."

The blunder comes after Mr. Raab was forced to revert to an assertion that the Brexit agreement would be in place by November 21.

In his Wednesday night speech, Raab also rejected the "risk of major shortage" if the UK did not preserve a friction-free trade with the EU.

But he said: "I think that probably the average consumer might not be aware of the extent to which the choice of products we have in stores depends on one or two very specific trade routes."

At the same time, Dominic Grieve protested that MEPs would not have access to an analysis of the economic impact of Ms May's deal with EU membership.

The former Conservative Attorney General wrote to the Cabinet Secretary after a government plan leaked proposed to clarify "what it means to the public, comparing it to the lack of agreement, but not to the current agreement.

Mr. Grieve wrote: "It is a matter of concern that the Cabinet Office appears to be instructed to give the public and Parliament no opportunity to make a comparison between the agreement and the agreements in force in the United States. ;European Union.

"It is of the utmost importance that Parliament and the public can compare the agreements with which the Prime Minister agrees, to the benefits of membership of the European Union and clearly expose the European Union. 39 impact that the proposed agreement would have on all areas of the economy, utilities, finances, security and opportunities. "

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