Republic can enforce a hard border, says Boris
BORIS Johnson has suggested the enforcement of a hard customs border on the island is entirely a matter for the Republic.
The arch-Brexiteer made the remarks during a heated question-and-answer session with RTÉ’s Bryan Dobson at Dublin’s Pendulum summit.
Asked about customs checks across the border, Mr Johnson said, ‘That is an entirely a matter for Ireland and if you choose to insist on every lorry, all goods from the UK, being checked and interrupted in that way, that is a matter for you.’
He added: ‘I don’t believe [customs] checks will be necessary and I think you can invigilate the trade elsewhere.’
If the UK were to crash out of the EU with a no-deal Brexit, World Trade Organisation rules would be automatically imposed.
When the Conservative MP was pushed on whether those WTO rules should be ignored, he said there should be an extension of the current EU-UK trade rules.
He also said he wants the smoothest Brexit possible, adding that he believes the UK parliament can get it right over the next few months.
‘Nobody, not in Dublin, not in London, not in Brussels, nobody wants a hard border in Northern Ireland. Nobody is going to accept it. Nobody is going to implement it and we shouldn’t,’ said Mr Johnson.
‘I would have thought, faced with what are essentially logistical and bureaucratic and technical problems, our two great countries should be bold and brave together.’
During the interview session, Mr Dobson brought up how Mr Johnson, the former UK foreign secretary, has seemingly flipflopped on his opinion on the Northern Ireland customs and tariff ‘backstop’ agreement.
Mr Johnson said he ‘believed the assurances that we had at the time when I was in government that this backstop was just a form of words; it was just a convenient fiction that had to be endured’.
He added that he was sceptical of the backstop and had believed ‘naively’ that he could make a difference from within the British cabinet.
He said he argued strenuously against the backstop during cabinet meetings.
‘If we wanted to diverge from the EU, then unless we sorted out the issue of the Northern Ireland border to the satisfaction of other parties, then there was a risk of being locked into the customs union and single market,’ said Mr Johnson.
Mr Dobson pushed hard on previous claims Mr Johnson made about Northern Ireland’s prominence in the Brexit debate.
Last year, Mr Johnson was recorded during a private function claiming the Northern border situation was akin to ‘allowing the tail to wag the dog’ in the Brexit negotiations.
Asked if he knew the value of exports from the North to the South, Mr Johnson took Mr Dobson’s notes when he couldn’t answer – to which the interviewer responded: ‘I can let you keep [the notes]. It might help you.’
It comes as Theresa May has accused her own cabinet ministers of plotting to undermine her as she fights to save her Brexit deal, a bombshell secret memo has revealed.
A leaked email lays bare the open warfare in the British cabinet as rival ministers jockey for position amid reports the UK
‘Nobody is going to implement it’ Tesco and M&S are stockpiling food
prime minister could be forced to resign if her deal is defeated.
The email, written by Downing Street director of communications Robbie Gibb, criticises rival Tory leadership contenders Sajid Javid, Amber Rudd and Liz Truss for trying to upstage Mrs May.
A BBC projection was reported to show Mrs May’s Brexit deal could be defeated by a remarkable margin of 228 votes.
Meanwhile, British police have told supermarkets they may need to hire more security guards if customers start panic buying in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Tesco and Marks & Spencer in the UK are stockpiling tinned goods as the March 29 date for Brexit nears. Food and drink firms have warned of pressure if new checks at ports lead to long delays for produce entering Britain.