Crowing Remainiacs
Eurocrats back Tory plotters’ bid for ‘regime change’ in No10... but is Brussels playing for time over Northern Ireland?
EUROCRATS who have battled Britain for months over Brexit backed the Tory plotters yesterday in their attempt to oust Boris Johnson.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly frustrated the EU since coming to power in 2019 with a series of high-profile spats over the hated Northern Ireland protocol, fishing rights and Covid vaccines.
Just yesterday Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s Brexit enforcer, insisted there was ‘no legal and political justification’ for rewriting the trade rules for the province.
Last month, the Slovak diplomat launched legal action against the UK over the Government’s effort to disapply most of them, claiming that it breaks international law and the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Sefcovic has warned that Brussels could launch a trade war if Britain goes ahead with its threat. But four senior EU sources last night said the slew of ministerial resignations – and a possithis ble leadership contest that topples Mr Johnson – could help to mend ties with Downing Street.
They expected any replacement British prime minister to seek a better relationship with Brussels.
One EU diplomat from a country that is traditionally close to Britain said: ‘ It is difficult to see how progress can be achieved as long as he remains PM.
‘ But with a new Tory leader, those chances could increase. At point it is about pursuing the lesser evil.’
Another even referred to the need for ‘regime change’ in London, a thinly-veiled reference to calls from ex-No 10 aide Dominic Cummings to depose the Prime Minister.
A third senior source said: ‘Given what is happening in Westminster, we can see that Boris will not be there for much longer.’
One top official with close ties to French president Emmanuel Macron said Mr Johnson’s move to overhaul the Northern Ireland protocol meant he had ‘lost all respect and credibility’.
‘We are awaiting his departure so we can resume a proper relationship with the UK,’ the source said, adding that Britain’s legislation to unilaterally override part of the Brexit deal had damaged trust in the PM.
Both the UK and the EU agreed the protocol during the Brexit talks that would see new checks imposed on goods moving the British mainland to Northern Ireland.
Britain blames the rules for severe trade disruption and Eurocrats have refused to renegotiate the deal.
It is why the Government has been looking to change them without seeking EU approval, with Unionist politicians worried that the province’s place within the UK is being undermined.
The latest EU briefing war against the Prime Minister will raise suspicions that Brussels is playing for time amid Tory infighting before offering any concessions to Britain.
It came as former Tory minister and arch-Remainer Anna Soubry said she wanted Labour to win the next general election, which must be held no later than January 2025.
‘I want Keir Starmer in No 10,’ Miss Soubry told Sky News. ‘At least he is decent and honest, and he is competent. That is what I think the British people are crying out for.’
Alastair Campbell, the pro-Remain former spin doctor for Tony Blair, told Times Radio that Mr Johnson was ‘toast’ and should resign.
‘The fact is that you are destroying yourself, you are destroying the Conservative Party, and worst of all you are really doing fundamental damage to the country,’ Mr Campbell said.