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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Frances Perraudin (now), Mattha Busby and Matthew Weaver (earlier)

Brexit: Johnson refuses to rule out NI staying in customs union – as it happened

Evening summary

Here’s a quick summary of what happened this afternoon.

The DUP have issued an interestingly positive seeming statement –

Updated

The pound had its biggest two-day rally against the dollar since the Brexit vote as hopes rose that a deal could be struck before the deadline later this month, my colleagues Richard Partington and Graeme Wearden report.

Sterling climbed to the highest level in three months against the US currency, briefly hitting $1.27, amid mounting optimism in the City, after the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said talks could progress to the next phase.

The pound has risen four cents against the dollar since Thursday, when Boris Johnson and the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, agreed there was a “pathway to a possible Brexit deal”. That is the sharpest two-day rise in the pound since the EU referendum more than three years ago.

The pound has surged as hopes of Brexit deal rise
The pound has surged as hopes of Brexit deal rise

You can read the full story here –

The government has announced it has signed contracts with ferry operators Brittany Ferries, DFDS, P&O and Stena Line to provide freight capacity in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The deals will be worth up to £86.6m if the UK leaves the bloc without an agreement. An early termination fee of £11.5m will be paid to the firms if a Brexit deal is agreed.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

The UK is getting ready to leave the EU on October 31 and, like any sensible government, we are preparing for all outcomes. Our decisive action means freight operators will be ready and waiting to transport vital medicines into the country from the moment we leave.

In May, then-transport secretary Chris Grayling was forced to cancel ferry contracts signed to ensure critical imports could reach the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit, when the date of Brexit was pushed back from 29 March to 31 October.

The contracts worth £89m with Brittany Ferries and DFDS were designed to secure ferry space for vital goods across the Channel. The cancellation resulted in a termination payout of £43.8m to the firms, along with costs taking the final bill over £50m.

The prime minister visited a school in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire today – Dominic Grieve’s constituency – which ITV’s Paul Brand says has prompted speculation that he could be planning to stand there in the next election. Johnson only has a majority of 5,000 in his Uxbridge seat.

The Sunday Times reported last week that the Liberal Democrats would stand aside in Beaconsfield to help Grieve, the former Conservative attorney general, now an independent, to retain his seat.

Boris Johnson visited St Mary and All Saints C of E Primary School, where he admitted to the Bucks Free Press that some schools had fallen behind as a result of under funding.

The BBC is reporting that the aerospace, automotive, chemicals, food and drink and pharmaceutical sectors have written to the prime minister to express concern that Boris Johnson’s negotiators have dropped commitments to maintain regulatory alignment. They are concerned that the UK might no longer participate in specific EU regulatory institutions after any Brexit deal.

Johnson refuses to rule out Northern Ireland staying in customs union

In a pooled television clip following a visit to a school on Friday, Boris Johnson declined to say whether Northern Ireland would definitely leave the EU’s customs union when asked.

“I think it would be wrong of me to give a running commentary on the negotiations,” he said. “With the greatest possible respect I think, look at everything I’ve said previously. I think you can draw your own conclusions from that. But let our negotiators get on.”

Johnson said: “I can certainly tell you that under no circumstances will we see anything that damages the ability of the whole of the United Kingdom to take full advantage of Brexit, and I think that’s what people would expect, and that’s what I think we can achieve.”

He added: “Where Leo Varadkar and I got to yesterday was a joint feeling that there is a way forward, and we can see a pathway to a deal. That doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. So there’s work to be done.”

Updated

Lots of chatter over what will happen now to the backstop, although no details were revealed officially today.

This is from Reuters, who have spoken to sources within the European commission:

A diplomat and an EU official said Barnier had told member states that Britain had changed its position to now accept that the proposed replacement to the so-called “backstop” cannot erect a customs border between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

“On customs, they admitted that the solution cannot result in the creation of a border in Ireland,” the diplomat said, adding that this admission was the reason Barnier gave national envoys in Brussels to justify going into intensified talks with Britain over the weekend.

Separately, two senior EU diplomats told Reuters the possible solution could include two elements: keeping Northern Ireland inside the UK’s customs regime and, at the same time, ensuring that customs and regulatory checks were carried out together.

Under an earlier British proposal, the regulatory border would run in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain. The sources said they understood that customs checks could be carried out there as well under the plan now under discussions.

That marked a change from the latest EU-UK discussions when London proposed dispersed customs checks across the whole island of Ireland, which the bloc rejected as unworkable and not offering enough protection to its single market.

Updated

The Federation of Small Businesses has described the agreement to intensify Brexit negotiations as a circuit breaker which offers light at the end of the tunnel.

The FSB national chairman, Mike Cherry, said:

After months lost in the Brexit uncertainty that has hit many of our small businesses, there finally appears to be a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel.

Positive technical talks appear to have been the circuit breaker needed to kick-start negotiations and provide a credible pathway towards a deal that avoids a no-deal Brexit on 31 October that many small businesses are simply unable to prepare for.

For these small firms, averting this outcome is the only sensible way forward. It truly is crunch time now and the small business message is clear – we need intensity and determination from both the UK government and EU, in the time that is left, to get a last-minute deal done.

These small businesses cannot afford to see this progress squandered and a return to the prospect of a no-deal Brexit on 31 October which would cause real harm to many small businesses.

Updated

UK 'drifting closer' to original Northern Ireland backstop - report

RTÉ’s Europe editor has said the UK appears to be moving back towards the original aims of the Northern Ireland backstop.

The British government’s version of Brexit involves the UK ultimately leaving the single market and customs union, requiring the return of a range of checks on goods crossing the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The “backstop” is intended as a standstill placeholder to ensure such checks do not have to be imposed between Brexit happening with a deal, and the start of a new free trade agreement yet to be negotiated between the UK and the EU.

Theresa May's withdrawal agreement proposed keeping the whole of the UK in a shared customs territory with the EU during this period. An alternative idea involves only Northern Ireland staying in the EU’s customs territory. That would place a customs border in the Irish Sea. May described it as a threat to the constitutional integrity of the UK, but the new prime minister, Boris Johnson, has opened the current talks by proposing an all-Ireland agri-food zone. The suggestion is that he will seek to quietly build on that with further NI-only arrangements.

Given an NI-only backstop was an EU proposal in the first place, the U-turn would be warmly welcomed in Brussels, although attempts to give the Northern Ireland assembly a veto on its continuation would not be acceptable, and the DUP would be unlikely to support the prime minister in such a move in parliament.

If there is a no-deal Brexit, then there is no backstop.

Daniel Boffey

Attention will also now turn to the absence of a devolved government in Northern Ireland.

And here is some more tunnel intrigue.

Updated

Afternoon summary

"Tunnel" negotiations describe a Brussels process whereby a small group of negotiators hold discussions in secret, with no press briefings or documents published, meaning the offers and counter-offers are not disclosed – unless they are leaked.

In theory it allows a "safe space" where controversial ideas can be discussed without worrying about the political fall-out on either side from even considering them, emboldening negotiators to consider politically riskier proposals.

When Brexit negotiations have previously gone into the tunnel, even EU27 ambassadors have not been kept informed of the progress. It also allows the results to be presented as a joint proposal, avoiding the appearance that there have been winners and losers in a negotiation.

The Irish Times has reported that when a journalist asked a European commission official where the tunnel was, they replied: “The tunnel is not a place, but a state of mind.”
  • Earlier, he compared Brexit negotiations with climbing a mountain after both the UK and the EU released statements recognising that the talks were constructive.

This is from Reuters, and suggests Macron was not fully abreast of the developments when he made these remarks:

French President Emmanuel Macron hinted on Friday that the “next few hours” could be crucial regarding the possibility of a breakthrough on a Brexit deal.

Asked by a Reuters reporter if there was a “glimmer of hope” regarding a Brexit agreement, Macron replied: “Let us wait for the next few hours.”

Major investment banks said on Friday they had become more optimistic on the prospects for a Brexit deal following an upbeat meeting between Boris Johnson and [his] Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar. Macron is also due to meet German leader Angela Merkel on Sunday.

The next two days will be make or break, tweets Daniel Boffey.

Europarl UK has posted this informational video.

Meanwhile, the tunnel debate rages on.

Updated

The prime minister has said his thoughts are with those injured in a knife attack in Manchester which has seen five people taken to hospital with stab injuries. Anti-terror police are investigating.

One shop worker said:

A man was running around with a knife lunging at multiple people, one of which came into my store visibly shaken with a small graze.

Soon after, security staff told all retail staff to close their doors and move the public to the back of the stores.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott tweeted: “Shocked and saddened to hear about the events that have taken place at the Arndale Centre in Manchester. I will remain closely informed and updated on the situation.”

Our thoughts are also with those who have been injured, and wishing them a swift recovery.

Talks to 'intensify' over coming days, EU confirms

My colleagues Rowena Mason and Heather Stewart report that pro-remain MPs are planning a crunch vote on a second referendum during the “super Saturday” sitting of parliament next week, as Jeremy Corbyn comes under intense pressure from senior allies to back another Brexit vote before an election.

Updated

The latest YouGov poll shows both the two largest parties slightly gaining ground.

And now to ask, what will happen in the tunnel? Will it even be called a tunnel?

This is from PA Media, confirming some of Campbell’s tweets from earlier.

John McDonnell has said he and Jeremy Corbyn would have to resign if Labour loses the next election.

Asked by former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell whether it was “possible for him to stay on” if Labour failed to win next time round, the shadow chancellor said: “I can’t see so.”

“I can’t see... I think it is the same for my own personal position, I can’t see so,” he told Campbell for an interview in GQ magazine.

“What we’d do is as the tradition, which is have an election for a new leader.”

McDonnell said he thought Mr Corbyn’s successor should be a woman.

“I’m still of the view now that whoever comes after Jeremy has got to be a woman,” he said.

“We’ve got to have a woman leader. If you look at the new youngsters that have come through, they are fantastic.”

This will be the first time Boris Johnson’s negotiators will enter the tunnel, and it was not smooth going for his predecessors.

However, it allowed for an agreement to be reached.

It was an unseasonably warm and sunny October day when the idea of the ‘tunnel’, the secretive negotiating phase from which Wednesday’s deal has emerged, was first raised with EU ambassadors in Brussels.

Updated

EU member states give permission for 'tunnel' negotiations, says Barnier

The UK government had been keen to open “tunnel” negotiations with the commission on the detail of a deal, and this will be seen as a sign that progress is being made with the EU.

These intensive talks are now set to be held in the days befire the summit on 17 and 18 October.

The tunnel is Brussels jargon for discussions held among a small group of negotiators in complete secrecy, with no press briefings or documents published, meaning that the offers and counter-offers are not disclosed – unless they are leaked.

Even ambassadors of the EU27 would not be kept informed of the progress, as they are regularly with Brexit negotiations, and the results would be presented as a joint proposal.

The Irish Times has reported that when a journalist asked a European commission official where the tunnel was, they replied: “The tunnel is not a place, but a state of mind.”

Updated

The BBC’s Katya Adler tweets that EU diplomats fear Boris Johnson could pull out of negotiations even after securing a concession.

Here are some further thoughts and insights from Sky’s Sam Coates.

Updated

Although we haven’t seen the full quotes, Alastair Campbell has suggested that the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, told him that he and the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, would step down if they lost the next general election.

The next leader must also be a woman, McDonnell said in an as yet unpublished GQ interview, according to Campbell.

McDonnell also confirmed to Tony Blair’s former spin doctor that there must be a second referendum, as well as a general election. Corbyn said in his speech yesterday that an election must come before any further referendum.

Campbell also tweets that McDonnell claimed parliamentary democracy and the rule of law is under threat.

Updated

The Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, has also welcomed a “constructive meeting” in Brussels.

A government spokesman said: “Steve Barclay had a constructive meeting with Michel Barnier this morning. Michel Barnier will brief ambassadors from the EU27 this afternoon.”

Updated

Vintage Barnier here.

The commission spokesperson declines to go into detail about the meeting.

But we do have confirmation the breakfast lasted 140 minutes.

Meeting with Barclay was 'constructive' but Brexit negotiations require 'patience', says Barnier

After leaving the meeting, the EU’s chief negotiator said:

We had a constructive meeting with Steve Barclay and the British team and now I’m going to debrief the 27 ambassadors and the Brexit steering group of the parliament.

I’ve already said that Brexit is like climbing a mountain: we need vigilance, determination and patience.

Updated

A spokeswoman for the European commission has said the Barnier-Barclay meeting was constructive.

“What I can say from our side is that Michel Barnier had a constructive meeting this morning with Steve Barclay,” said the spokeswoman, Mina Andreeva.

“And now he will debrief the EU27 ambassadors... and also inform the Brexit steering group accordingly.”

She added: “We are working towards a deal .. If there is a will, there is a way.”

Updated

Speaking in Dublin, the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has said he is still positive that a breakthrough can be found after his meeting with Boris Johnson yesterday.

“I think at this stage probably the less said the better,” he said.

The focus today very much switches to Brussels where Secretary [Stephen] Barclay is going to meet with Michel Barnier and I’d anticipate that will lead to some more detailed proposals being made, and the possible talks to enter the proverbial tunnel, but that’s kind of where things stand today.

Updated

Here’s the full story from Daniel Boffey in Brussels.

Those Barnier/Barclay talks have come to an end. Barnier is expected to brief EU27 ambassadors on the discussions at around 11.30am UK time.

Updated

Interesting spot by Roy Greenslade on the different way the Irish and English versions of the Sun regard the prospects of a deal:

Here’s the full written text of Tusk’s statement on Brexit:

Let me conclude with Brexit. Prime Minister Johnson promised the EU to come forward with a solution that would work for all. A solution that would not only satisfy the hardcore Brexiteers, but also solve our well known and legitimate objectives: to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, to protect the Good Friday Agreement and to ensure the integrity of the Single Market.

Unfortunately, we are still in a situation in which the UK has not come forward with a workable, realistic proposal.

A week ago I told PM Johnson that if there was no such proposal by today, I would announce publicly that there are no more chances – because of objective reasons - for a deal during the incoming European Council.

However, yesterday when the Irish Taoiseach and the UK Prime Minister met they both saw - for the first time - a pathway to a deal. I have received promising signals from the Taoiseach that a deal is still possible. Technical talks are taking place in Brussels as we speak. Of course, there is no guarantee of success and the time is practically up. But even the slightest chance must be used. A no deal Brexit will never be the choice of the EU.

Tusk receives 'positive signals' from Ireland

European Council, President Donald Tusk attends a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia
European Council, President Donald Tusk attends a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia Photograph: Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters

The head of the European council, Donald Tusk, has urged the Brexit negotiators not to waste the “slightest chance” of a deal.

Speaking in Nicosia after meeting the Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades, Tusk said:

A week ago I told Prime Minister Johnson that if there was no such proposal by today I would announce publicly that there are no more chances, because of objective reasons, for a deal during the upcoming European council. However yesterday when the Irish taoiseach and the UK prime minister met, they both saw for the first time a pathway to a deal.

I have received promising signals from the taoiseach that deal a still possible. Technical talks are taking place in Brussels as we speak. Of course, there’s no guarantee of success and the time is practically up. But even the slightest chance must be used.

Updated

Ireland’s finance minister, Paschal Donohoe, said he is hopeful talks between Barnier and Barclay will yield a positive outcome.

Speaking to Ireland’s Newstalk, Donohoe said:

What happened yesterday was a positive discussion but the real detail discussion will begin now and that will be in Brussels.

Hopefully the meeting and the process today will be positive.

Updated

Barnier, Barclay and Tim Barrow, the UK ambassador to the EU, all looked fairly jolly before their talks at the European commission HQ in Brussels.

UK Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay is welcomed by European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier before their meeting in Brussels
Stephen Barclay (L) is welcomed by Michel Barnier before their meeting in Brussels. Photograph: Francisco Seco/Pool/EPA

Updated

The pro-Brexit Tory MP Nigel Evans has said members of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Conservative MPs could vote for concessions on Northern Ireland if the Democratic Unionist party was in favour.

“I think it is very difficult to get it through without the DUP, but we have seen a shift from the DUP already,” he said, according to PA Media. “And if the DUP are in favour of it, it’d be very difficult for the ERG to go against.”

Evans said the ERG had not been briefed on the exchanges between Johnson and Varadkar. He said:

“We’re going to look at the detail - none of us know.

“I believe it is three-dimensional poker and we’re playing very high risk stakes here.

“But at the end of the day, I think there’s a realisation by the European Union that Boris Johnson, completely different to Theresa May, is prepared to leave the European Union on October 31, unlike the March 29 deadline, which was movable.”

Updated

ITV’s Joe Pike has been told that the Labour defector, Angela Smith, now a Liberal Democrat MP, plans to stand against Graham Brady, the acting chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs.

She faces a tough battle: in 2017 Brady secured a majority of more than 6,000 votes over Labour, with the Lib Dems a distant third.

Updated

The Brexit party leader, Nigel Farage, sees an opening in all the speculation about compromises.

And Leave.EU, the pro-Brexit group that Farage founded, reckons Johnson has “blinked”.

Updated

The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, says the cabinet has been briefed on what was agreed between Johnson and Varadkar.

But he has been giving nothing away in a round of broadcast interviews. “I had a very nice briefing this morning which was very much appreciated,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Asked what the reason was for optimism following the meeting, he said: “It does not benefit anyone to have a running commentary on live negotiations.”

Updated

Welcome to a Friday edition of Politics live after an unexpectedly positive Brexit meeting between Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar.

Positive but also very private – it is unclear even whether the UK cabinet has been briefed on the detail of what was discussed. The two leaders agreed a delphic joint statement after their meeting at a wedding hotel in Wirral.

Andrew Sparrow, who is taking a well-earned break from liveblogging duty, has a helpful guide on what the joint statement could mean.

The Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, has just started talks in Brussels with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, to see if they can build on whatever was agreed by Johnson and Varadkar.

The Northern Ireland secretary, Julian Smith, has hinted that Johnson compromised on a proposal to give the suspended Stormont assembly a say every four years on Northern Ireland staying in the the European single market for goods but leave the customs union.

Speaking to BBC Northern Ireland, he said: “What I’m committing to is that we are not going to have one party having a veto over any element of this situation.”

Downing Street pointed out that so few people had been briefed about what was proposed that any comments about what could be involved is just speculation.

Updated

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