Boris Johnson pledges 'oomph' in talks despite Brexit slapdown from Brussels

Boris Johnson has pledged to enter EU talks with “a lot of oomph” – despite his Brexit plan being slapped down as “unrealistic” by Brussels.

Bloc chiefs blasted the Prime Minister’s attempt to scrap the Irish Backstop from the Withdrawal Agreement, ahead of his first trip to Europe since entering No10.

Mr Johnson flies into Berlin tomorrow morning for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, before jetting to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Conservative leader meets EU leaders at a G7 summit in Biarritz this weekend.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Johnson reiterated his opposition to the Northern Irish backstop, adding: “Don’t forget why we’re doing all of this. The existing agreement just doesn’t work for the UK. And Parliament has thrown it out three times.

“We can’t have this backstop. So I’m going to go to see our friends and partners – I’m going off to Germany and then to France, and then to see the G7 at Biarritz, and I’m going to make the point that the backstop is going to come out.”

Earlier, EU chiefs attacked the Prime Minister’s “bluster” as they accused him of supporting a new border along the 310-mile frontier separating Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The Backstop would prevent a hard border in the event of no agreement on a future trading relationship by keeping the UK in the EU customs union.

EU Council chief Donald Tusk tweeted: “The Backstop is an insurance to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland unless and until an alternative is found.

“Those against the backstop and not proposing realistic alternatives in fact support reestablishing a border. Even if they do not admit it.”

The European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt tweeted: “I don’t see any majority in the (European Parliament) to remove the Backstop from the Withdrawal Agreement.

“It is a vital insurance policy, negotiated in good faith & supported by the people of the Island of Ireland.

“The time for bluster & political blame games is fast running out.”

Responding, Mr Johnson said: “We think there is a big opportunity now for everybody to come together, take out that backstop.”

He added: “We will be looking at all the ways in which we can maintain frictionless trade at the Northern Irish border – whether it’s trusted trader schemes, or electronic pre-clearing, or whatever it happens to be, all that kind of thing, checks away from the border, points of sale or whatever if you have to crack down on smuggling, all that kind of thing – but we will come up with those solutions, or agree those solutions I should say, in the context of the free-trade agreement.

“That’s the way we are going to approach it. And you know what, at the moment it is absolutely true that our friends and partners are a bit negative.”

But he said he thought the talks would “get there” – but claimed the risk of Parliament blocking no-deal was bolstering the EU’s hand.

He said: “There is a real sense now that something needs to be done with this backstop. We can’t get it through Parliament as it is.

“So, I am going to go at it with a lot of oomph as you’d expect, and I hope we will be making some progress in the course of the next few weeks.

“But clearly, one thing that slightly complicates the picture is our EU friends still clearly think there is a possibility that Parliament will block Brexit, and as long as they think that there is a possibility that Parliament will block Brexit, they are unlikely to be minded to make the concessions that we need.

“So it is going to take a bit of patience.”

Mr Johnson made his plea in a letter to EU chiefs, saying the UK would agree to a “legally binding commitment” not to put in place infrastructure, checks or controls at the border with Ireland.

He urged the EU to do the same.

But Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said “the letter does not provide a legal operational solution to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland”.

She added: “It does not set out what any alternative arrangements could be and in fact it recognises that there is no guarantee that such arrangements will be in place by the end of the transitional period.”

A Downing Street spokesman said: “We are deeply invested in the peace, prosperity and security of Northern Ireland and always will be and we have been clear that we will never place infrastructure, checks, or controls at the border.

“But it is clear that unless the Withdrawal Agreement is reopened and the Backstop abolished there is no prospect of a deal.”