Lord Willetts: UK could get stuck in the middle of US-China hostilities post-Brexit

Remain supporter Lord Willetts said the recent row over the Huawei 5G contract – which led to the sacking of Gavin Williamson – was "a taste of things to come" should the UK depart the bloc.

He says the EU was the only independent power capable of challenging the two nations, as he pushed the case for a fresh public vote on Brexit to resolve the current deadlock in Parliament.

Relations between superpowers' China and the US have deteriorated in recent years, with increased tariffs on Chinese goods fuelling escalating trade wars.

Lord Willetts, a Universities Minister under David Cameron and former Paymaster General, said departing the EU meant that Britain was placing "a huge gamble on China and America".

He told the Express & Star: "The world is facing up to increasingly hostile competition between the US and China and the only independent power to challenge them is the EU.

"If Britain is outside the EU, we will effectively be a buffer between conflicting pressures from those two superpowers.

"The Government will need to find some way of handling that, and it won't be easy. The row over Huawei is a taste of things to come."

Lord Willetts said the current parliamentary paralysis over Brexit – which has seen delays to the UK's departure from the bloc – could only be solved by another public vote.

He argued that now the public had been given a glimpse of what Brexit actually meant they had seen that "things could get worse" for Britain outside the EU.

"The original vote was an expression of frustration and hope for something new. Very few proposed what is now called a 'hard Brexit'," he said.

"People were so unhappy and disillusioned. Some had worked for years without a pay rise and they thought things could only get better.

"The truth is things could get worse. We could lose jobs. What happens if we don't get better access to the US market and more trade with China?

"Even for people who think they have had it hard, it could get far worse.

"Look at the options in front of us now. We could be 'in the club' but no longer deciding the rules, or leaving with 'no deal' which is the worst option of all.

"Yes, there are frustrations in this country, but leaving the EU will not solve them."

He also called for a new "informed debate" on the UK's Brexit options, claiming the 2016 referendum had been "a quick and dirty operation" riddled with false promises.

He added: "It's far bigger than a general election. Trying to change the direction of your country after 40 years on a single 52-48 vote is very hard to do.

"It was one sentence, yes or no. No one had a clue what it meant.

"If the Brexiteers stand their ground and there is still a clear majority for Brexit next time then the result will be unquestionable.

"But the vote must take into account clear perspectives so people can see what Brexit actually looks like.

"The Prime Minister was wrong to say Brexit means Brexit, because no one really had a clue what Brexit meant."