Brexiteers fear the draft divorce deal, which still needs to be approved by Parliament, is not what Leave voters want, as it will lock the UK into EU trade rules for years to come. The former Labour Prime Minister, in a column published in France’s Le Monde daily, wrote: “I have a message for Europe’s leaders: don’t think this ‘accord’ on Brexit will hold up. It is noxious for both parties. “For Brexiteers, the accord isn’t really a Brexit. And for staunch Remainers like myself, it’s an end result that makes a laughing stock of our country. It is not a lesser evil, but the worst of all possible solutions.”
UK and EU officials agreed the draft text of a Brexit withdrawal agreement last week after months of negotiations.
But leading Brexiteers, such as Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, immediately criticised the draft deal, saying it would keep the UK under the EU’s thumb.
The draft deal does not have the approval of the British Parliament, nor of the British people, Mr Blair warned.
While praising Prime Minister Theresa May’s “courage and resilience” in divorce negotiations, Mr Blair described the current accord as deeply “flawed”.
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He said: “Two big flaws have undermined these negotiations: one is technical, the other political.
“The technical flaw concerns the draft deal itself. It implies that it is possible for the UK to be outside the single market and customs union while having access to European markets without there being any border frictions.
“In other words, the UK could continue to trade freely with Europe, without being legally bound by EU trade rules.”
He stressed it would be impossible to harmonise the two objectives.
The ex-Prime Minister also expressed doubt about the “complex” backstop agreement to prevent a hard border in Ireland, which would create a single customs territory between the EU and the UK.
While it would only kick in should Britain’s future relationship with the EU fail to keep the border open, some critics warn it could keep the UK trapped in a customs union with Brussels indefinitely.
Mr Blair said: “The argument is that the backstop will keep the Irish border open, and that the UK will remain in a customs union for a transition period determined by London. But Europe knows this isn’t true. The UK will stay in the customs union until both parties decide it needs to leave. In other words, the EU has the ultimate veto.”
Despite praising Brexit negotiators’ “sterling work” on the accord and its “clever” wording, Mr Blair warned of a “fundamental divergence” with Britain on the customs union: “It’s not reasonable. It is a recipe for chaos.”
The British voted to leave the bloc “to free themselves from the EU’s rules,” he stressed.
Mr Blair added: “Theresa May wants the UK to leave Europe’s political structures, while remaining closely aligned to its economic structures.
“This is an objective that makes sense but that will lead to a Brexit which is devoid of sense.
“The UK will no longer have a say on how EU rules are defined, but will still have to comply to these rules.”
There is a real possibility that Parliament will reject the draft accord, Mr Blair continued, before reiterating his call for a second Brexit referendum.
He said: “It’s not too late to make a U-turn in order to get out of this impasse. Brexit is a bad thing for the UK. It is also a bad thing for Europe. We all know that.
Mr Blair also urged European leaders to rise up against Brexit: “Help us prevent a mistake that will cast a dark cloud over Britain’s destiny, and over Europe’s as well.”