Boris Johnson tells Irish leader Leo Varadkar to ‘abolish the backstop’ as he plays game of chicken with Brussels
BORIS Johnson told Irish leader Leo Varadkar to “abolish the backstop” yesterday as he warned that a No Deal Brexit would be the EU’s fault.
Dramatically stepping up his game of chicken with Brussels, the new PM said the Irish border insurance plan had to go if a Brexit agreement was to be struck by October 31.
In a 15-minute phone call that revealed the huge shift in approach from No10, he insisted that Britain would be leaving in three months “no matter what”.
Mr Varadkar countered there was no way the EU would change its stance.
But the PM piled on the pressure by saying there was “no way” the backstop would get through the House of Commons.
He said: “If the EU understands that, I think we are going to be at the races.
“If they can’t compromise, then clearly we have to get ready for a No Deal exit.
“It’s up to the EU, this is their call if they really want us to do this.”
Mr Johnson — who visited a poultry farm in South Wales yesterday — has been urged to threaten to slap tariffs on Irish goods coming into the UK in the event of a No Deal.
The DUP’s Sammy Wilson called for the move on the eve of a politically-charged trip by the PM to Northern Ireland today.
He told The Sun: “The previous (Theresa May) administration thought that if they were nice they’d get a deal.
“But the nicer they were the more the EU and Ireland put the boot into them.
“Boris has to show Britain is not an easy touch anymore.”
In other developments yesterday:
- MICHAEL Gove held a No Deal Cabinet summit and also slammed Labour’s Keir Starmer who threatened to hold the Civil Service to account over a No Deal.
- FOREIGN Secretary Dominic Raab flew to Bangkok for a meeting of the south-east Asian trade bloc to expand Britain’s business “horizons”
- THE PM refused to comment on the Pound as it plunged further towards parity with the US Dollar on No Deal fears
- INSIDERS revealed some civil servants being drafted into No10 are being put on contracts that only last until October 31.
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Mr Varadkar has warned a No Deal would lead some in Northern Ireland to think about reunification with the Republic.
The backstop is designed to avoid the return of a “hard” border with customs checks between the Republic of Ireland and the North.
It would tie Britain indefinitely to the customs union and single market after any transition period if a new trading relationship with Brussels isn’t agreed in time.
£1.8bn crisis stash
IRELAND’S biggest bank is mobilising a £1.8billion emergency fund for businesses in case of No Deal.
The Bank of Ireland said attitudes in Westminster and Dublin had “hardened in the last 48 hours” due to Boris Johnson’s rhetoric.
Its chief exec Francesca McDonagh said: “Our advice to business owners is to speak to us to be as ready as they can be for what will be an uncertain period.”
Economic forecasts predict Ireland will be hit hardest by a No Deal out of all the EU states, with 55,000 jobs going over two years.
Dublin’s department of finance says growth will slow to just 0 to 1 per cent next year compared to 3.3 if there’s an agreement.
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