A LEADING Scotch whisky distiller has slammed the rhetoric of “grievance politicians” whom he accused of derailing attempts to secure an orderly exit from the European Union (EU).

Billy Walker, the former owner of the BenRiach Distillery Company who now leads the GlenAllachie Distillery in Speyside, was scathing about the politicisation of the Brexit process.

The industry veteran said: “It upsets me to see so many grievance politicians working against the general national interest.

“I listen to the television and hear all these alternative politicians saying: “we could get a better deal.” But they don’t tell me what this better deal is, and how they are going to manage it.”

Mr Walker added: “My anxiety is that this ideological debate will continue to thwart us achieving what we want to achieve as a starting point, and that is crazy. The world is crazy.”

Despite voting remain in the 2016 EU referendum, Mr Walker said Theresa May’s heavily criticised Withdrawal Agreement was a “reasonable starting point”, stating that “we should go for it.” The UK Parliament is now due to vote on the agreement in January after May postponed it before Christmas in the face of likely defeat.

Mr Walker, whose career has included spells with Ballantine’s, Burn Stewart Distillers and Inver House Distillers, said: “Nothing endures forever. Who knows what will be in five or 10 years’ time? There will be a constant dialogue anyway, and the whole fabric and structure of the European community will inevitably change. We (the UK) will not be the last change.”

He added: “People change, political thinking, and the people who are instrumental behind the political thinking change over cycles. So nothing is forever, and nothing is enduring. If you get an opportunity like the one that is presented to us at the moment (May’s Withdrawal Agreement) why not take it work from that point? That is the kind of base point to take the journey forward.”

Mr Walker’s comments come as the boss of Inver House Distillers says the disarray over Brexit is already harming trade with the EU.

The latest industry figures show that the EU is the biggest regional destination for Scotch, having accounted for 39 per cent of the volume of exports and 31% of the value in the first half of 2018. The total value of Scotch whisky exports increased by 10.8% to £1.97 billion over the period.

However Martin Leonard of Airdrie-based Inver House said: “Brexit uncertainty continues to cause concern to our customers in mainland Europe regarding continuity of supply.

“If we crash out of Europe then all movements to the EU will be treated as exports and may be subject to additional checks and delays, creating the potential for significant disruption post March 2019.

“There are signs that this is already starting to distort the supply chain with some finished goods being moved out to market in advance of the March deadline and some packaging components brought in on the same basis. As overall demand is unlikely to change, this will potentially create peaks and troughs in manufacturing and logistics which could impact on industry efficiency.”

Mr Leonard, whose firm owns the Old Pulteney, Balblair and Speyburn single malts, said the uncertainty around Brexit is also affecting its own workforce. He explained: “As an international business, we have a number of employees from other EU countries and they remain in a difficult position. While there is an expectation that they will be able to continue to contribute to the success of our industry, there is an absence of any certainty and a risk that we lose good employees who have an international perspective and language skills that support a global industry.”

Colin Matthews, chief executive of Loch Lomond Group, said Brexit was not yet affecting export plans at the distiller, which sends its whiskies to more than 120 countries. However, he said the need for businesses to be given clarity on what to expect was not critical. The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, 2019.

Mr Matthews said: “Whilst we do have a contingency plan in place for the period immediately surrounding the Brexit date, I feel however that it is critical for all business no matter their size that there starts to be some real certainty and clarity on what the world looks like post-Brexit, especially for businesses such as ours who have significant business interests in European markets.

“If Brexit is really going to happen then it is critical that the UK exit is well managed and sensible trading agreements are in place protecting UK businesses and jobs and not putting them at any disadvantage to their peers around the world.”

Mr Matthews added: “As a business owner with significant exposure to European markets I would really hope that the UK’s exit from the EU is well-managed and a sensible and workable deal is in place for everyone going forward.”

Mr Walker lamented the impact which the political crisis in the UK has had on the value of sterling since the Brexit vote. While a weaker pound has provided a boost to exports, he said this is offset by the rise in the cost of imported goods.