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United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has clashed with the Irish prime minister over the controversial Brexit backstop in the pair’s first discussions.
In a first phone call with Leo Varadkar since becoming UK prime minister on his sixth day in 10 Downing Street, Johnson repeated his stance that he will only agree to a Brexit deal that “abolishes” the backstop.
But, offering no sign a Brexit breakthrough is close, Varadkar repeated the European Union’s position that the UK’s withdrawal agreement cannot be renegotiated. Inserted into the UK’s yet-to-be ratified divorce deal with the EU, the backstop is an insurance policy designed to avoid a hardening of the border on the island of Ireland, should this not be averted by the future UK-EU trade relationship.
Johnson has described the backstop as “anti-democratic” due to its provisions for the UK to remain closely aligned to the EU for an indefinite period. He has promised to take the UK out of the EU on 31 October “do or die”, raising the prospect of a no-deal Brexit cited as one of the factors behind recent falls in the pound.
Giving Downing Street’s account of Johnson’s call with Varadkar yesterday, a spokesperson said the prime minister had told his Irish counterpart that his “clear preference is to leave the EU with a deal, but it must be one that abolishes the backstop”.
Johnson was also said to have told Varadkar that the UK government “will never put physical checks or physical infrastructure” on the Irish border “in all scenarios” after Brexit.
The prime minister has previously described how “alternative arrangements” to physical border checks could provide a solution.
