NOW PLAN IS TO BE OUT BY THE FIRST DAY OF 2021
Minister fails to face down proBrussels Tories including Chancellor Philip Hammond who are demanding continuing close ties to Brussels.
Mr Johnson, who was one of the most high-profile backers of the Leave campaign, will say in his speech in Westminster today the time has come for politics to move on from the divisions of the past.
He will also set out his ideas for reuniting the country – and the bitterly divided Tory party – by insisting that Britain can succeed as a “great global power” and an independent nation. Some Tories are certain to see his speech today as his blueprint for an alternative Brexit vision should the Prime Minister be forced out of Downing Street.
The Foreign Secretary is expected to say: “I fear that some people are becoming ever more determined to stop Brexit, to reverse the referendum vote of June 23 2016, and to frustrate the will of the people.
“I believe that would be a disastrous mistake that would lead to permanent and ineradicable feelings of betrayal.
“We cannot and will not let it happen. But if we are to carry this project through to national success – as we must – then we must also reach out to those who still have anxieties. I want to try today to anatomise at least some of those fears and to show to the best of my ability that they are unfounded, and that the very opposite is usually true. That Brexit is not grounds for fear but hope.”
Mr Johnson is expected to argue that Britain must not “repeat the mistakes of the past” when the pro-Brussels establishment ignored the concerns of much of the country.
“It is not good enough to say to Remainers – you lost, get over it; because we must accept that many BREXIT campaigners yesterday welcomed signals that Britain will cut short its transition period from EU membership and leave fully on New Year’s Eve 2020.
The date is in line with European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier’s timetable and there is rising speculation the Government will accept it.
Theresa May wants the EU to agree an implementation period to phase in changes for “around two years” after the official Brexit date of March 29, 2019.
December 31, 2020 would be three months shy of two years, but sources suggested the Government was ready to sign up to it.
It would coincide with the end of the EU’s current seven-year budget cycle and save wrangles over what Britain should pay if it stayed in for the first three months of 2021.
The UK and the EU aim to agree the broad terms of the transition phase next month.
A Whitehall source said: “The EU timetable is the working assumption and no one seems too upset by that.”
Brexit Secretary David Davis has indicated he would be content with the shorter period provided there was time to get all the necessary work done.
Leading Brexit backer and ex-minister Iain Duncan Smith said: “The sooner we can get this done, the better. What everyone needs is certainty, not a ‘never-end-um’.”
Fellow Tory MP and Brexit campaigner Peter Bone said: “December 2020 seems a perfectly sensible date. I’m not sure why the Government hasn’t just said ‘yes’ already.” are actuated by entirely noble sentiments, a real sense of solidarity with our European neighbours and a desire for the UK to succeed.”
Mr Johnson’s long-awaited speech comes ahead of a meeting of Mrs May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday that will hopefully kick-start the stalled Brexit talks.
Mrs May will then make a major speech on security to a summit in Munich on Saturday. She is expected to make an ambitious offer to support European security after the Britain quits the EU.
The speeches by the PM and Foreign Secretary mark a new Government charm offensive ahead of the next round of Brexit talks.
It comes as Chancellor Hammond tours European capital this week in a new push to build support for a UK-EU trade deal. He said yesterday: “I am taking the message to Europe that, while we are leaving the EU, Britain still cares about its relationships with the countries, citizens and businesses with whom we share a close history and common values.
“We look forward to agreeing a new, deep and special partnership with the EU.”