Wilson bites back after Tusk’s ‘place in Hell’ jibe at Brexiteers with no plan
A DUP MP has branded Donald Tusk a “devilish, trident-wielding Euro maniac”.
Sammy Wilson, the party’s Brexit spokesman, was robust in his response to Mr Tusk’s suggestion there will be a “special place in Hell” for those who promoted Brexit without any plan for how to safely deliver it.
East Antrim MP Mr Wilson accused the European Council president of showing “contempt” for Brexit voters.
“This devilish Euro maniac is doing his best to keep the United Kingdom bound by the chains of EU bureaucracy and control,” he said.
“It is Tusk and his arrogant EU negotiators who have fanned the flames of fear in an attempt to try and overturn the result of the referendum.
“All he will succeed in doing is stiffening the resistance of those who have exercised their choice to be clear of Tusk and his trident-wielding cabal.”
Mr Wilson’s party leader Arlene Foster accused Mr Tusk of being “deliberately provocative” and “disrespectful”.
However, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald backed Mr Tusk’s use of language.
“You are not going to convince me that anything Donald Tusk says could further harden the position of the Boris Johnsons or the Rees-Moggs of this world,” she said.
“They are people who have acted with absolute contempt for this country, utter disregard for the experiences of Irish people north and south, with utter disregard for the peace process that has been collectively built over decades. Their position is the most hardline of hardline; it is their language that is intemperate and it is their position that is untenable.”
Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann called for cool heads allround, accusing both Mr Tusk and Mr Wilson of trading “harsh words”.
“Leo Varadkar and Donald Tusk may find Mr Tusk’s uncouth words amusing, but they are no laughing matter,” he said.
“They may feel they are flexing some EU muscle, but the increasingly arrogant and confrontational approach they have adopted could ultimately lead to disaster socially and economically. It’s time for cool heads instead of harsh words.”
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, responded to Mr Tusk’s comments by saying that the Brexit supporters he meant “would even manage to divide hell”.
The European Council president was speaking alongside Taoiseach Leo Varadkar following talks in Brussels in which they discussed preparations for what Mr Tusk described as the “fiasco” of a no-deal Brexit on March 29.
Mr Tusk said the EU was not making “any new offer” and was hoping to hear from Mrs May “a realistic suggestion on how to end the impasse in which the process of the orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU has found itself following the latest votes in the House of Commons.”
He concluded: “I have been wondering what that special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan to carry it out safely.”
Mr Tusk also made clear that he had lost hope that the UK’s decision to leave may be reversed in a second referendum due to the “pro-Brexit stance of the UK Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition”.
The row erupted on the eve of Theresa May’s visit to Brussels as she seeks to rewrite key parts of the Brexit deal. The trip for talks with Mr Tusk and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker is seen as “part of a process” by Number 10 and it is not clear she has any detailed new proposals to put forward.
The PM will use the meetings to state that Parliament has sent “an unequivocal message that change is required”.
But ahead of their talks, Mr Juncker said the withdrawal agreement was not open for renegotiation.
“She knows that the commission is not prepared to reopen the issue,” he said.
But Downing Street insisted the EU must be prepared to shift its stance on the contentious Irish backstop to avoid a no-deal Brexit next month.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “Leo Varadkar said that they want the UK to leave with a deal; Donald Tusk said earlier today their priority is avoiding no-deal.
“The fact is that the deal that was on the table has been rejected by 230 votes. So if, as they state, they wish for us to leave with a deal, there are going to have to be changes made in order to address concerns which MPs have on the backstop.”
Mr Varadkar — who will host Mrs May in Dublin tomorrow — said that while he was “open to further discussions” with the UK Government, “the events in London and the instability in British politics in recent weeks demonstrate exactly why we need a legal guarantee and a solution that is operable, that we know
will work and will last.” He dismissed the UK Government’s alternative arrangements concept as a potential solution to the current Brexit impasse.
“We need to bear in mind that this majority that did exist in the House of Commons for ‘alternative arrangements’ probably only exists because alternative arrangements can mean whatever you want them to mean,” Mr Varadkar said.
“I don’t believe that would have passed if people had to actually get into the details of what alternative arrangement might mean or might not mean.”