LONDON (Reuters) - British trade minister Liam Fox said on Tuesday that the European Union risks damaging its standing in the world if it pursues a Brexit that puts its own "ideological purity" ahead of needs of its citizens.
Earlier on Tuesday Britain's foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said it would be a big geo-strategic mistake for the continent of Europe if Britain left the European Union next year without a securing a deal.
Asked by Sky News if he agreed, Fox said: "If the European Union decides that it wants to put ... the ideological purity of the bureaucracy of Brussels ahead of the well-being of the people of Europe, it will send a very big signal to the rest of the world about exactly where Europe is heading."
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Alistair Smout)
