UK in bigger Brexit soup as Johnson breaks ranks
london — British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson risked a fresh Brexit row on Friday after being secretly recorded predicting a “meltdown” in the negotiations, accusing some in the government of blocking the process and implying US President Donald Trump might handle it better.
In the latest indiscreet remarks from Britain’s free-wheeling top diplo- mat, he also revealed talks with the United States over North Ko- rea and plans to counter Russian aggression, and mused about re- lations with China.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokeswoman refused to comment on the remarks, revealed by BuzzFeed News, but insisted she still had confidence in her foreign minister.
Addressing Conservative activists this week, Johnson said the government was reaching a phase in negotiations “where we are much more combative with Brussels”.
“You’ve got to face the fact there may now be a meltdown,” Johnson said, ahead of a key EU summit at the end of June. —
london — British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been caught on tape predicting a “meltdown” in Brexit talks and musing admiringly how US President Donald Trump might handle them.
In his latest indiscreet remarks likely to embarrass Prime Minister Theresa May, Johnson said the government was reaching a phase in negotiations “where we are much more combative with Brussels”.
“You’ve got to face the fact there may now be a meltdown. OK?” he told Conservative activists earlier this week, according to a secret recording leaked to Buzz Feed News.
“I don’t want anybody to panic during the meltdown. No panic. Pro bono publico, no bloody panic. It’s going to be all right in the end.”
He added, according to further quotes revealed in The Times: “Take the fight to the enemy — absolutely right. We need to — and we will.”
I don’t want anybody to panic during the meltdown. No panic. Pro bono publico, no bloody panic. It’s going to be all right in the end Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary
Johnson, Britain’s chief diplomat, also said he was “increasingly admiring of Donald Trump”.
“I have become more and more convinced that there is method in his madness,” he said. “Imagine Trump doing Brexit. “He’d go in bloody hard... There’d be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos,” Johnson continued.
“Everyone would think he’d gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere. It’s a very, very good thought.”
The leading Brexiteer talked about divisions within the British government, saying that Brexit “will happen, and I think it will be irreversible, but... the risk is that it will not be the one we want”.
He said the establishment was seeking to ensure that Brexit “does as little change as possible”, with “the risk is that you will end up in an anteroom of the EU, locked in orbit around the EU”.
Johnson also played down concerns about the risk of new checks on the border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, which threaten to hold up talks on the future trading relationship.
“It’s so small and there are so few firms that actually use that border regularly, it’s just beyond belief that we’re allowing the tail to wag the dog in this way,” he said. “We’re allowing the whole of our agenda to be dictated by this folly.” —