'My business lost 72 customers in a week due to Brexit, I don't care about fish...'

15 January 2021, 14:44

Caller's business is going bust due to Brexit she doesn't care about British fish

EJ Ward

By EJ Ward

This caller told LBC her business could only survive one week after losing customers due to Brexit but ended up telling James she didn't care about fish.

Leitha said she was "just ringing up to rant about how the government lied to us about the free trade agreement."

She told LBC's James O'Brien she thought the agreement with the EU was created just with large companies in mind.

The caller said she owns a small company and started a business during the first lockdown selling antiques and collectables.

But, Leitha revealed recently all of her parcels to mainland Europe have been returned even though her business is complying with the new rules.

She told James parcels have been sent back to her and she has been told "they're not ready, they're not ready to even get over the border to France, Italy or Germany. It's so close!"

James pointed out to the caller that while this was difficult for her, it sounded like something that was fixable.

And while it was not a "permanent consequence of Brexit" but more like a "consequence of the Government's complete failure to tell you the truth," and prepare for the realities of Brexit.

Leitha said she wasn't even "able to get out of my pyjamas because I'm trying to sort this mess out they've caused."

She then revealed to LBC her business has lost 72 customers over the last week describing the huge impact on her small company she said this was a loss of £10,000.

James O'Brien on Rees-Mogg's comments

The caller said he business would be able to "trade for another week, and that's it, our business is gone."

When James asked the caller if she could not "derive any comfort from the thought that fish are now British and therefore happier."

The comment comes after Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs: "What is happening is that the Government is tackling this issue, dealing with it as quickly as possible, and the key thing is we've got our fish back. They're now British fish and they're better and happier fish for it."

But the caller's answer was blunt, "I don't really care about the fish, because I'll put it in the oven, I'll eat it. I don't care if it's from Europe, from America, from the British waters... I don't care."

Watch the whole interesting conversations in the video at the top of the page.

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