Day: January 27, 2019

    A senior minister has edged close to ruling out Britain leaving the EU without a deal, predicting such a scenario will never become "government policy". Education Secretary Damian Hinds told Sky News he "didn't envisage" ministers signing up to the plan, but that it had to remain an option to stop MPs thwarting Brexit. In comments likely to rile Brexiteers, Mr Hinds also called the Irish backstop an "integral part" of the Brexit deal. That is the insurance policy to prevent a hard border reforming on the island of Ireland if a trade deal is not struck. It is the main concern of hardline Eurosceptic MPs who voted in droves against the withdrawal agreement in December. Some are trying to change the deal to make the backstop time-limited, given the UK has no unilate...

    Ireland has launched a last-minute attempt to warn Theresa May off any attempt to unravel the backstop, two days before a crucial Commons debate that may decide the next move for the UK’s rudderless Brexit policy. Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister and deputy prime minister, insisted the backstop was “part of a balanced package that isn’t going to change” and, in a forceful interview, insisted it was only part of the withdrawal agreement because of the UK’s red lines. Responding to Coveney’s interview, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, dismissed suggestions it had sabotaged May’s Brexit strategy for the coming week, saying all sides were looking for “pragmatic solutions” to the Irish border problem. Hancock also played down a report claiming that, as part ...