Ireland offers Brexit lifeline to Johnson
Ireland premier throws Boris a lifeline in talks
BORIS Johnson was thrown a Brexit lifeline by Ireland’s leader after the pair agreed there is a “pathway to a possible deal”.
Hopes of agreement before next week’s crunch Brussels summit were slim as the PM and Leo Varadkar met for private talks at a top hotel.
But a joint statement after the twohour session said: “Both continue to believe a deal is in everybody’s interest. They agreed they could see a pathway to a possible deal.”
However, Ireland’s deputy PM and Foreign Minister Simon Coveney was less optimistic, saying: “Mark my words, we are not there yet.
“Today is an injection of some much-needed optimism but the pragmatism of getting a deal across the line is what we need to focus on.”
The talks concentrated on customs arrangements and Northern Ireland’s “consent” to Mr Johnson’s Brexit blueprint. Mr Varadkar, who earlier said a deal before the summit on October 17 and 18 would be “very difficult”, said: “I had a very good meeting. I do see a pathway to an agreement. But there’s many a slip between cup and lip, and lots of things that are not in my control.”
The pair agreed to “reflect further on their discussions” with officials “continuing to engage intensively”.
Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay will meet EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier tomorrow in Brussels.
Mr Johnson now has less than seven days to reach an agreement if we are to leave on October 31 with a deal. If he comes back from the summit empty-handed, he’ll be forced to seek more time.
MPs will sit next Saturday, deal or no-deal, to debate the next steps.
Yesterday’s meeting was at Thornton Manor in Cheshire, where Coleen Rooney held her 21st.
Meanwhile, ex-Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies warned that no-deal could still cause deaths, despite Government preparations.
She told the BBC: “We cannot guarantee that there will not be shortages, not only of medicines but technology and gadgets and things. There may be deaths.”
And former chancellor Philip Hammond said our best hope was a zero-tariffs deal, keeping us in the customs union and doing away with the need for a backstop.