BRITAIN BRACES FOR NO-DEAL
Merkel says solution ‘overwhemingly unlikely’
A No 10 source has said a Brexit deal is “essentially impossible” after a call between the PM and Angela Merkel.
Boris Johnson and the German chancellor spoke yesterday about the proposals he put forward to the EU last week to break the deadlock – but the source said she made clear a deal based on them was “overwhelmingly unlikely”.
The BBC’s Adam Fleming said there was “scepticism” within the EU that Mrs Merkel would have used such language as the EU’s top official warned the UK against a “stupid blame game”.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk sent a public tweet to Mr Johnson, writing: “What’s at stake is not winning some stupid blame game. At stake is the future of Europe and the UK as well as the security and interests of our people.”
Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney tweeted it was “hard to disagree” with Mr Tusk, writing: “We remain open to finalise a fair Brexit deal, but need a UK government willing to work with the EU to get it done.”
Mrs Merkel’s spokesman said her office would not reveal details of “private, closed” conversations.
There has been little sign of progress in talks between the two sides since Mr Johnson sent his new proposals for a deal to Brussels, with the EU demanding “fundamental changes”.
Officially, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said the talks – aimed at securing an agreement at next week’s EU summit – were “at a crucial point”, but denied they were over.
Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, said Downing Street’s response to the phone call was an “attempt to shift the blame for the Brexit fiasco”.
And Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer told MPs the Government was “intent on collapsing the talks and engaging in a reckless blame game”.
He said: “The stark reality is the Government put forward proposals that were designed to fail.”
He added that it was “beneath contempt” that, according to a Downing Street source reported by the Spectator magazine, the UK could withdraw security co-operation from other EU countries if it were forced to remain beyond October 31.