"Let's get together," Prime Minister May addresses Brexit criticism

BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) – Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday called on her party to unite behind her plan to leave the European Union to launch a direct appeal to critics saying her desire to reach a free deal exchange Brexit proposals.

At the start of what should be one of the Conservatives' most violent annual conferences, May's plans were attacked once again by two former ministers, former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson calling them "disturbed".

Barely six months before Britain leaves the EU in the country's biggest foreign and trade policy change for more than 40 years, the debate on how to leave the bloc is still raging within the party Conservative center-right, and even the government.

May's already fragile leadership has come under new pressure this month when the EU rejected parts of the Checkers plan. But she gave a positive spin to these discussions, saying that she was ready to take into account the concerns of the EU.

"My message to my party is that we are going together and getting the best deal for Britain," May told the BBC in the central English city of Birmingham.

"At the heart of the Checkers plan, there is a free trade agreement, a free trade zone and a friction free trade … The ladies at the moment are the only plan on the table that answers the Brexit vote … d & # 39, Northern Ireland.

May showed few signs of abandoning her Checkers plan, named after her country residence where she reached an agreement on Brexit with her ministers in July, despite growing criticisms that her proposals offer the worst of all worlds.

Johnson, who resigned from the government after Checkers' agreement, called his plans "deranged" and attacked the prime minister for not believing in Brexit.

He and former Brexit Minister David Davis plead for a Canadian-style free trade deal with the EU – a proposal that, according to May, will divide Northern Ireland from the Great Britain by forcing the British province to adhere to different customs rules.

"Unlike the Prime Minister for whom I fought, I believe it, I think it's the right thing to do for our country and I think what's happening now is unfortunately alas not what people had promised in 2016, "said Johnson, the favorite bookmaker to succeed May, told The Sunday Times.

Davis, who like Johnson resigned in protest, said his plan was "just wrong," but he added that he thought it was likely that the government would make an exit agreement with the EU at 80-90%.

"I believe in BREXIT"

May's team hoped that the party's conference would give it a platform to renew its promise to help those who "are about to manage," trying to distract Brexit and place it in national agenda.

But his first announcement – an additional tax on foreign homebuyers – did not allow a resumption of the conversation on Sunday with a new Brexit dominance, a possible campaign for party leadership and the prospect of a change. early elections.

A research group said in a report that the UK decision to leave the EU had cost the government 500 million pounds ($ 650 million) a week, eliminating for the moment the potential savings from stopping payments in the UK. block.

Opposition Labor Party chairman Ian Lavery said the Conservatives were "obviously too busy fighting each other and have neither the ideas nor the desire to come up with real solutions to the problems that exist". They have caused.

Johnson's interview in the Sunday Times was seen by many party members as the beginning of a campaign to overthrow May, which angered some Conservatives who criticize the former foreign minister.

May refused to be fired on his comments and did not quote him by name in a long interview with the BBC. But his answer was clear.

"I believe in Brexit," she said.

"But I fundamentally believe that Brexit must be organized in a way that respects the vote and vote of the British people, while protecting our union, protecting jobs and ensuring the success of Brexit for the future."