Crass claims by ‘cowardly’ UK minister about Ireland are ‘so wrong’
Foul-mouthed attack is rubbished by politicians and businessmen
FOUL-mouthed claims by an anonymous UK minister that Britain would get a good Brexit deal because of Ireland’s chaos fears, were rubbished yesterday by businessmen, diplomats and politicians.
A spokesperson for the Tánaiste dismissed the comments as ‘cowardly’.
The unnamed Westminister cabinet member is reported as saying that the EU will give
‘If they don’t, Ireland is f **** d’
in to London’s demands, ‘because if they don’t Ireland is f **** d. No Deal will destroy it’.
‘No Deal hurts us, the EU and Ireland – but it hurts Ireland the most,’ the source is quoted as telling the Sun newspaper. ‘A lot of Irish trade goes to Britain, and much of the rest comes through us to Europe.’ The anonymous source even claimed Leo Varadkar had ‘overplayed his hand’ on Brexit and was now ‘in deep trouble’.
However, a spokesperson for Tánaiste Simon Coveney dismissed the claim out of hand, saying: ‘I don’t believe this is from a serious British cabinet minister. I think it speaks for itself in being cowardly, given the person won’t put their name to comments like that.’
Greencore boss Patrick Coveney also reacted to the reported remarks yesterday, asking: ‘How can the UK cabinet get this so wrong?’ The food company chief executive, who is the Tánaiste’s brother, said: ‘Anyone with even cursory knowledge of Ireland, our history, relationship with Britain and current politics would know we’ll just “dig in” in the face of these threats – especially when simply trying to preserve peace on the island of Ireland.’
And Fine Gael senator Neale Richmond said a ‘No-Deal Brexit hurts the UK more than it hurts Ireland’, as he branded the anonymous comments as a ‘delusion’. The Fine Gael Brexit spokesman in the Seanad told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘We have a number of very testing weeks ahead, but ultimately the Withdrawal Agreement, including the backstop, is closed. The negotiations were completed in November.
‘We look forward to working constructively with those in London and all of our European partners, but the British government has to be aware of its responsibilities and that the realistic outcome of putting everything on Ireland and trying to stir dissent and attack our Taoiseach, merely undermines the argument of their weakness and stance.’
Bobby McDonagh, who previously served as Ireland’s ambassador to the EU and the UK, said: ‘If a British minister spoke so crudely about Ireland it’s very sad.’
A Dublin-based political source last night told the Mail the comments were an example of members of the British cabinet ‘just saying stuff that appeals to their base’.
Their ‘knowledge of Ireland is negligible and their knowledge of the EU is even less’, the source added, saying: ‘There is absolutely no truth in it. It is the usual rhetoric from the extreme elements of the British cabinet.
‘Ultimately, the EU position hasn’t changed, isn’t going to change. They don’t get the impact on Ireland in terms of the economy.’
The Dublin source also rubbished the remark that the Taoiseach was out of his depth, saying he followed the course of action that his predecessor ‘would have followed, and, indeed, any Irish taoiseach would have followed – he is just doing what he should be doing’.
‘It is ridiculous to say Leo Varadkar is out of his depth when you compare it to the people who have been prime minister or are prime minister and are populating the British cabinet. The Taoiseach has the support of the entire Irish political system; the Withdrawal Agreement was backed unanimously by the Dáil and the Seanad,’ the source said.
The Tánaiste said a date had yet to be agreed for the longawaited meeting between the Taoiseach and British prime minister Boris Johnson, amid speculation it may not occur until early September. Mr Coveney said while he thinks the meeting would happen in weeks, he does not believe it will ‘solve everything’.
‘I think the Irish position is very clear,’ Mr Coveney said. ‘I think the British government understands that. I think the EU position is also very clear, it is the same as the Irish position and, unfortunately, unless the British government changes its approach on Brexit, well then we are facing managing a No-Deal Brexit, which is going to put huge pressure on everybody.
‘We have spent hundreds of millions of euro preparing for a No-Deal scenario which everybody hopes won’t happen, but unless the British government changes the approach it’s decided to take, that is the direction we are heading in.’
John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, was reported in recent days as having told British journalists that Britain would be ‘front of the trade queue’ for a new deal with the US.
But Mr Coveney appeared to play this down yesterday, as he referenced previous remarks from ‘key politicians’ in the US, who are involved in approving trade deals, who said unless the Good Friday Agreement is protected, ‘they would find it very difficult to see how a trade deal could be concluded and approved’.
He said: ‘There is a system in the US that involves both the White House and Congress and the Senate in the approval of trade deals, so it’s not as straightforward as people have made out.’
emmajane.hade@dailymail.ie
‘Irish position is very clear’