Boris Johnson hints his ‘very good offer’ to EU involves checks on island of Ireland

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney leaves EU headquarters in Brussels
Getty Images
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Checks will be needed on the island of Ireland to resolve the Brexit border backstop row, Boris Johnson suggested today.

The Prime Minister promised to make a “very good offer” to the EU, expected on Thursday, and said it was likely to be clear within days whether a new Brexit agreement is possible.

Stressing that the UK and EU were now facing a “critical moment of choice,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “In the end a sovereign, united country must have a single customs territory. But there are plenty of ways in which we can facilitate north-south trade.”

With some arguing there should be no checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and others insisting there must be, he added: “I’m with the second group because that is just the reality.”

The Prime Minister rejected a leak, which he suggested may have come from Brussels, that the Government’s blueprint included customs posts along both sides of the Irish border, about five to 10 miles away from it.

“That is not what we are proposing at all,” he said, hinting that it was an old idea.

Deputy Irish premier Simon Coveney dismissed the plan as a “non-starter”, tweeting that Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland “deserve better”.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney leaves EU headquarters in Brussels
AP

The idea for the customs posts is understood to have been contained in non-binding so-called “non-papers” submitted by UK officials during technical discussions.

Mr Johnson said he is working “flat out” to get a new Brexit deal, as the “rubber hits the road” ahead of the planned October 31 EU exit date, and that by the weekend it is likely to be clear whether it is achievable.

“A massive amount of work has gone into this, including with the Irish,” said a senior figure at No 10.

According to sources, key features of the Johnson plan could include:

A version of the backstop that Mr Johnson vowed to remove. Officials are understood to have looked into a potential termination mechanism linked to the continuing “consent” of the Northern Ireland Assembly to evolving EU customs rules. Such an arrangement could be presented as a compromise in line with the principles of the Good Friday Agreement, rather than a simple time-limit which was flatly rejected by Ireland and the EU.

An all-Ireland regime for food and animal regulation to minimise the impact of Brexit on farmers, especially those who regularly move livestock across the border.

Keeping the UK aligned with EU rules for an implementation period while alternative arrangements, known as “maximum facilitations”, are developed, such as trusted-trader schemes and the use of technology to prevent smuggling.

Rushing a stripped-down withdrawal agreement Bill through Parliament in a few days before October 31, with non-essential legislation delayed until after Brexit.

Ministers insist Mr Johnson has no intention of attempting to circumvent the so-called Benn Act that requires him to request an extension of the Brexit deadline beyond October 31 if no deal has been struck. However, the No 10 source claimed: “If we don’t get a deal we will leave regardless.”

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