Rees-Mogg urges ‘trust’ in Boris
JACOB REES-MOGG has issued an appeal to Brexiteers to trust Boris Johnson as negotiations on a deal with Brussels enter a critical stage.
The Leader of the Commons, who was a thorn in the side of Theresa May over Brexit before joining Mr Johnson’s administration, warned compromise was inevitable if there was to be an agreement.
He hinted he may even have to “eat my words” and support a plan close to one put forward by Mrs May – which he had once described as “completely cretinous”.
Mr Rees-Mogg – who previously led the strongly pro-Brexit European Research Group – insisted, however, that Leave supporters could have confidence Mr Johnson would not give too much ground to Brussels in order to get a deal.
“I think that he is somebody who even the arch Eurosceptics, even a member of the Brexit Party, can trust and have confidence in,” he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.
His comments were seen as a sign of nervousness that hardline Brexiteers could scupper any deal Mr Johnson can reach, just as they thwarted his predecessor.
In a conference call with Cabinet ministers to brief them on the negotiations, Mr Johnson said that while he could see a “pathway” to a deal there was still a “significant amount of work” to be done.
“The Prime Minister said there was a way forward for a deal that could secure all our interests, respect the Good Friday Agreement, get rid of the backstop and get Brexit done by October 31,” a No 10 spokesman said.
It comes after the DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds fired a warning shot to ministers that any return to Mrs May’s plan to resolve the issue of the Irish border would not be acceptable to his party.
Reports from Brussels suggested the Prime Minister had sought to revive a proposal by Mrs May for Northern Ireland to remain politically in a customs union with the EU, but it would be administered by the UK.
The plan would avoid the need for customs controls on the island of Ireland – something the EU adamantly opposes.
Mr Rees-Mogg refused to be drawn on the detail of what was being discussed in the Belgian capital.
“Naturally in the middle of a negotiation these matters are extremely sensitive as everyone is compromising to some degree and therefore to give negotiations the best chance of succeeding, it is best to be discreet about them,” he said.
But he added: “We’ll have to find out in a day or two whether I’ll have to eat my words or not – time will tell.”
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Priti Patel said security measures were being stepped up for a possible no-deal, but denied they were driven by fears of an upsurge in terrorism by dissident Irish republicans.
She acknowledged, however, they were “conscious” of the situation in Northern Ireland.