Andrea Leadsom urges Theresa May to ask Angela Merkel to re-open talks on Brexit withdrawal agreement
3 min read
Theresa May should ask Angela Merkel to re-open the Brexit withdrawal agreement and amend the controversial backstop plan, a Cabinet minister suggested today.
In a clear challenge to the Prime Minister, Andrea Leadsom said it would be “fantastic” if the German chancellor would “try to support a proper UK Brexit” to get a deal over the line.
The House of Commons Leader made the astonishing suggestion despite Downing Street insisting there is no chance of the legally-binding withdrawal agreement being re-negotiated.
The Prime Minister will meet Mrs Merkel in Berlin today to plead for a further Brexit delay, before heading to Paris to ask French president Emmanuel Macron the same thing.
Britain is on course to leave with no deal on Friday unless a fresh extension is granted, after Tory and DUP MPs who hate the backstop plan to protect the Northern Ireland border refused to back the deal in the Commons.
But pro-Brexit minister Ms Leadsom argued the deal could be re-drafted at this late stage in the process.
“What I think would be fantastic is if Angela Merkel would try to support a proper UK Brexit by agreeing to reopen the withdrawal agreement,” she told reporters this morning.
“There have been rumours over the weekend that some senior members of the German government would be willing to do that in order to get Theresa May's deal over the line.”
She added: “If we could get the Prime Minister's deal over the line because the EU have decided to support measures on the backstop, then that would be the best possible outcome.”
Her comments were promptly rebuked by Michel Barnier however, who told a press conference this morning that the withdrawal agreement “is not going to be reopened and is not up for negotiating”.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator added that the political declaration on the UK’s future relationship with the bloc can be altered “rapidly within a few hours or days” however.
“The political declaration can be improved and can be provided with increased level of ambition if that is the wish of the United Kingdom,” he said.
The backstop plan would keep the UK in a temporary customs union with the bloc in the event of a no-deal Brexit to ensure the border with Northern Ireland remains open.
Critics argue it could leave Britain tied to EU rules indefinitely and could end up splitting the United Kingdom.
Mrs May has asked the EU for a delay up to 30 June in the hope she will be able to strike a deal with the Labour party for a softer Brexit - although the EU is expected to demand a longer extension.
Ms Merkel and Mr Macron are also expected to demand that Britain loses its say in future EU budget and trade talks in return for granting a Brexit delay.
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