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Two Cabinet ministers today said Boris Johnson is prepared to make changes to his “final offer” on Brexit after a fierce response from the European Union to his 11th-hour proposals.
Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said talks could be “helpful” and suggested the Government would even be willing to change the so-called “DUP veto” set out in the plans.
Home Office security minister Brandon Lewis said the Government was “open” to ideas from the Brussels side to improve the chances of getting agreement across all 27 remaining EU states.
Mr Johnson’s lead Brexit negotiator David Frost was in Brussels this morning being grilled on the “technical details” of the would-be deal, amid deep scepticism among officials that it could be made to work. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said after talks with leaders that the proposal had a number of issues.
In a further blow to the plans, Northern Ireland’s chief constable told Mr Johnson in a conversation described as “candid” that his force cannot possibly police the 300-mile Irish border without reinforcements.
Simon Byrne also told a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board that he has “made it clear” to the Northern Ireland Office that police will not “staff any form of border security”.
Mr Johnson’s plan envisages customs checks away from the border in Ireland, which Dublin has condemned as a breach of the Good Friday Agreement, and a second border for the single market between Northern Ireland and the UK.
Mr Smith, speaking to media in Northern Ireland, said reform of a contentious Stormont voting mechanism could be “helpful” in addressing concerns about how local politicians approve the terms of the UK’s tabled Brexit deal.
The Irish government is among those who have expressed fears that the petition of concern voting mechanism could essentially hand one Northern Ireland party, potentially the DUP, a veto over the post-Brexit arrangements, even if a majority of assembly members support the system.
Asked whether reform of the mechanism as part of any deal to resurrect the defunct devolved institutions could help address concerns about the Brexit deal, Mr Smith said: “That could be helpful. I’ve always said that I thought consent could be an important part of unlocking this Brexit conundrum.”
He added: “I am not going to go into the detail of the negotiation with the EU but the Good Friday Agreement is very clear on consent — it means one party not dominating.
“But I think there are many ways of actually achieving it, and I think we have to really ensure that the parties keep talking and we get them back in the room, that we get them back into Stormont, and how that resolves itself in terms of Brexit, I think, will be a matter for the coming weeks for the negotiation team.”
Mr Lewis told BBC Radio 4 Today’s programme: “From our point of view it’s a final offer. But we are open and understand the fact that the EU may come back and say, ‘Look, this deal is fine, but can we just look at this…?’ and we’ll have to look at that when we get to that point. But I’ve got to say, to be frank, as the Prime Minister said, this is our clear final deal.”
