Cutting out Brussels middleman, UK ministers make Brexit pitch to Germany

Berlin

FACING a tough line from Brussels on what economic ties between Britain and the European Union will look like after "Brexit", a pair of senior British ministers made a direct pitch to Germany to cut Britain a good deal.

Due to visit Europe's most powerful nation on Wednesday, Finance Minister Philip Hammond and Brexit Minister David Davis wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that the German economy also stood to lose out from a tough Brexit deal.

"As two of Europe's biggest economies, it makes no sense to either Germany or Britain to put in place unnecessary barriers to trade in goods and services that would only damage businesses and economic growth on both sides …