PM: We won’t sign up to £39bn ‘ blind Brexit’ deal

THERESA May last night warned she will not sign a £39billion Brexit divorce cheque unless the EU resolves ‘ big issues’ on future trade links.

Downing Street played down the prospect of a breakthrough at next week’s Brussels summit, saying there would be no deal without ‘movement on the EU’s side’.

And it dismissed the idea that Mrs May could sign up to a ‘blind Brexit’ – saying the terms of a future trading partnership would have to be spelled out in ‘precise’ detail.

After months of stalling, senior EU figures have made positive noises about the summit, described by EU president Donald Tusk as the ‘moment of truth’.

Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney, claimed at the weekend that a deal was 90 per cent there. But Mrs May has privately warned allies she does not expect to strike a deal until next month at the earliest.

Her official spokesman said she would not sign off on the ‘withdrawal agreement’ – which includes a £ 39billion ‘divorce’ payment – until the EU agrees the terms of a future trade deal.

This appears designed to allay the concerns of some MPs that EU leaders may agree a ‘ blind Brexit’. That would mean Parliament being asked to approve the withdrawal agreement – including guaranteed rights for expats and a new arrangement for the Irish border – with no clear idea of future EU-UK relations in areas such as trade and security. Asked about the positive noises emerging from the EU, Mrs May’s spokesman said: ‘There is a difference between people talking optimistically about a deal, and a deal – including both a withdrawal agreement and a future framework – actually being agreed.

‘ There remain big issues to resolve and, as the Prime Minister has said, this will require movement on the EU’s side. There can be no withdrawal agreement without a precise future framework.’

Today, DUP leader Arlene Foster will travel to Brussels for talks with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on his demand for customs checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Mrs Foster, whose ten MPs prop up the Government, warned last week that her opposition to customs and regulatory checks was a ‘blood red line’. The DUP is set to be consulted on British proposals for the Irish border later this week before they are published.

No10 yesterday denied reports the new plan could include the UK staying in a form of customs union with the EU indefinitely.

EU sources also confirmed that plans to publish a formal response to Mrs May’s Chequers proposals – which is expected to reject large parts of them – have been delayed until next week at the earliest.