Johnson retreats from Brexit talk

Protesters scare off U.K. prime minister

Boris Johnson said he is optimistic about reaching a deal with the European Union even though a day of Brexit talks descended into disarray as he cancelled a news conference after it was ambushed by protesters.

A noisy demonstration, in which individuals in the crowd could be heard shouting “dirty liar” as music blared, prompted Johnson’s team to ask their hosts in Luxembourg to move the presser indoors — but the request was denied.

Johnson departed the chaotic scene, leaving behind an empty lectern, while Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, went on to address the media alone, laying into his British guest and branding Brexit a “nightmare.”

It was an ignominious end to a day that started with the British leader expressing hope for a deal.

The U.K. is due to exit the EU on Oct. 31, and Johnson has said he is determined to leave the bloc on time, even if that means doing so with no divorce agreement in place.

Johnson travelled to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for his first face-toface talks since becoming prime minister.

While the atmosphere of the lunch meeting was friendly, a breakthrough was no closer to being reached, one EU official said.

“The big picture is that the commission would like to do a deal,” Johnson told the BBC in an interview after the talks with Juncker.

The EU president is “highly intelligent” and wants a deal, the premier said. “But clearly it’s going to take some work.”

Juncker’s team said after the meeting that the U.K. has still not presented any proposals and it is their “responsibility to come forward with legally operational solutions” to allow the free flow of goods between the Republic of Ireland, which is in the bloc, and Northern Ireland, which is in the U.K.

Johnson, whose office said talks between the two sides will now take place every day, said he is offering alternative arrangements for the Irish border, the main sticking point in talks with the bloc, though he refused to give specifics.

“There’s a limit to how much the details benefit from publicity before we’ve actually done the deal,” he said.

In his interview with the BBC, the prime minister repeatedly refused to rule out battling through the courts in order to ensure the U.K. leaves the EU on time.

Johnson said he would not breach the law but didn’t go into detail of how he would get around a vote by Parliament requiring him to ask the EU for an extension on Oct. 19 if he can’t reach a new agreement by then.