BRIT V BRUS

to put pressure on us. They want to see what happens when she goes back to Westminster and it’s worth it for them to wait.

“If she breaks through that unscathed, they will be ready because, as they tell me, neither side wants a no-deal.

“So they’re already reviewing options, and the frontrunner seems to be the idea of a time limit on the backstop.”

He added: “We now know that when [President of the European Commission] Juncker’s chief spokesman said a no-deal would mean a hard border, it was a shot across the bows of Ireland.

“[Ireland’s Prime Minister] Leo Varadkar’s bullishness plays well at home, but it isn’t helpful to Brussels. I’m told [EU’s chief negotiator] Barnier’s statement the following day that a no-deal would not mean a hard border is reflective of what the EU negotiating team feel.

“And Ireland is all too aware of the real possibility that the EU may decide just to quarantine the whole island, by putting checks at Calais for Irish goods, too. This would be a nightmare for Dublin.” Italian MEP Raffaello Fitto said: “It’s difficult to know how much further the EU can go.”

There are also many other issues, like the inclusion this week of a footnote referring to Gibraltar as a “colony” in meetings to ratify visa-free travel for Britons should the UK walk away without a deal. A British diplomat source said: “Gibraltar’s sovereignty is not up for discussion and it is inappropriate to refer to the Rock as a colony.

“Unfortunately distractions like these are par for the course in this climate.”

‘EU may decide to quarantine Ireland’