Leading the post-Brexit trade talks, Johnson’s ‘arrogant’ Irish nemesis

AN Irishman who has repeatedly criticised Brexit and Boris Johnson was appointed Brussels’ chief negotiator for post-Brexit trade talks yesterday.

Phil Hogan, who has accused the Prime Minister of being ‘unelected’ and said that Britain will become a ‘medium-sized’ nation after Brexit, will lead the EU team in charge of striking a post- Brexit free trade agreement.

His appointment as Trade Commissioner was announced by Ursula von der Leyen as she unveiled her top team who will take over when she replaces Jean-Claude Juncker as EU Commission President on November 1.

Mr Hogan has close links with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator who has been in office throughout the failure of Britain to break away, and significantly he is seen as a nemesis of Mr Johnson.

The outspoken 59-year- old and current agriculture commissioner has been locked in a war of attrition with Mr Johnson since July. Provocatively, he has said a No Deal Brexit would create a ‘foul atmosphere’ with ‘serious consequences’ for Britain as it tries to secure a trade agreement. He has pejoratively said Mr Johnson ‘views himself as a modern- day Churchill’, adding that if he forced through No Deal, his ‘only Churchillian legacy will be: never have so few done so much damage to so many’.

Mr Hogan has also savaged the Prime Minister’s claim that the Northern Ireland backstop would be ‘anti-democratic’, saying the description was an odd one ‘coming from an unelected prime minister.’ Mr Hogan, who earns £250,000 a year, moved to Brussels in 2014 after his domestic career ended in disgrace. His appointmentwas seen as an expression of solidarity with Ireland over Brexit as the deadline looms.

As an Irish environment minister, he introduced higher water charges and a property tax at the height of the financial crisis. Half a million leaflets were handed out by the Campaign Against Household and Water