BOILING POINT!
Britons bask on hottest July day EVER, but (surprise!) it’s meltdown on the railways... ... Boris and Brussels go to war over No Deal, and new PM gives Corbyn a roasting in the Commons
BORIS Johnson was already in a tense stand- off with Brussels last night after vowing to pursue a No Deal Brexit unless the EU ditches the controversial Irish backstop.
As temperatures reached 38.1C (100.6F) yesterday – the hottest July day in Britain since records began – and rail commuters faced thousands of cancellations and delays, things were also getting heated in the Commons.
In a barnstorming debut statement to MPs, the new Prime Minister issued an immediate ultimatum, saying he would never accept the ‘divisive, anti- democratic’ backstop arrangement negotiated by Theresa May, and savaging Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for his Brexit ‘flip-flop’.
Mr Johnson also pledged to ‘turbo-charge’ No Deal preparations, ordering Chancellor Sajid Javid to release billions more for contingency plans. The Mail can also reveal that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is seeking bids for £300 million of contracts to boost freight capacity in the event of No Deal.
Mr Johnson’s tough stance led to a stand-off last
night, with the EU warning it would never agree to tear up the deal agreed with Mrs May.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the demand to ditch the backstop was ‘unacceptable’. In a leaked note to the other 27 EU member states, he said Mr Johnson’s ‘combative’ tactics must not be allowed to shatter the EU’s unified stance.
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also hit back at the new Prime Minister, saying: ‘The backstop is an integral part of the withdrawal agreement.’
Mr Johnson repeated his ultimatum during a terse phone call with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker last night. Although Britain is due to leave the EU in just 97 days, the two men did not agree a timetable for any further Brexit talks, and MPs last night began their six-week summer break.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith welcomed the uncompromising rhetoric, saying: ‘Today the EU will have listened and realised that the days of supplication are over and that we are intent on a policy to leave the European Union.’ The row came as Mr Johnson:
Scrapped Mrs May’s target to reduce net immigration to the ‘tens of thousands’ and floated plans for an amnesty for half a million long-term migrants who are in the UK illegally;
Prepared to announce plans today for a crackdown on crime, including relaxing the rules on stop and search, and starting the recruitment of an extra 20,000 police officers;
Indicated he was willing to tear up strict Budget rules drawn up by former chancellor Philip Hammond to fund a long list of spending commitments, including tax cuts and investment in schools and hospitals;
Suffered a blow when Eurosceptic Steve Baker, one of the so- called Brexit ‘spartans’, turned down a job in government;
Was warned by his campaign chief Mr Duncan Smith and new Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg that he needed to step up plans for an early election if Parliament tried to block Brexit;
Told MPs that the virtual ban on growing genetically-modified crops in the UK could be lifted when Britain leaves the EU;
Rewarded long-time allies Conor Burns, Kit Malthouse and Nigel Adams with big government jobs as he continued his reshuffle.
Setting out his plans in the Commons, Mr Johnson said Brexit could lead to a ‘new golden age’ if handled well.
He said he would ‘much prefer’ to leave the EU with a deal this autumn, adding: ‘I believe that it is possible, even at this late stage, and I will work flat out to make it happen.’ Mr Johnson said the EU had ‘every reason to compromise’, given the potential loss of the £39 billion divorce payment and damage to exports to the UK.
But he added: ‘If it does not, we will of course have to leave the EU without an agreement.’
The so- called backstop was designed to prevent the emergence of a hard border on the island of Ireland in all circumstances. Under the deal negotiated by Mrs May, the whole UK would have stayed in a form of customs union until alternative arrangements could be agreed to resolve the border issues.
Mr Johnson, who voted for Mrs May’s deal at the third time of asking in March, said he now viewed it as unacceptable.
‘No country that values its independence, and indeed its selfrespect, could agree to a treaty that signed away our economic independence and self-government, as this backstop does,’ he said. ‘A time limit is not enough. If an agreement is to be reached, it must be clearly understood that the way to the deal goes by way of the abolition of the backstop.’
The warning was accompanied by a major acceleration of No Deal planning. Mr Hammond had previously set aside £4.2 billion for contingency plans. But government sources said ‘a lot more’ would now be made available.
Mr Johnson said he had ordered Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill to ‘mobilise the Civil Service to deliver this outcome, should it become necessary’. Plans include a publicity blitz to urge business and the public to prepare for ‘the opportunities of Brexit’ and ‘the possibility of No Deal’, sources said.
There will also be significant investment in physical preparations at the border and elsewhere.
Mr Shapps last night announced a £300 million plan to beef up
‘I will work flat out to make it happen’ ‘More critical than ever before’
freight capacity to ensure vital supplies such as medicines can be transported around the country unhindered. He said: ‘As the UK continues to develop as an outward-facing global trading nation ready for a post-Brexit world, the resilience of our trading hubs is more critical than ever before.’
EU diplomats said the hardline stance suggested Mr Johnson was preparing for an election as early as September. One senior source said: ‘From here it smells like early elections. Boris will probably demonstrate that negotiations will go nowhere with the EU and then trigger elections. He will run on a No Deal Brexit platform and hope it will give him the numbers.’
Labour MPs, who also fear an early election, looked on ashen-faced as Mr Johnson tore into Mr Corbyn in the Commons. After the Eurosceptic Labour leader yesterday abandoned his manifesto commitment to take Britain out of the EU, Mr Johnson said: ‘The reality now is that we are the party of the people. We are the party of the many, and they are the party of the few.’
To Tory cheers, he also savaged Mr Corbyn over his stance on Iran, pointing out he had made paid appearances on the state- funded channel Press TV and saying he ‘ repeatedly sides with the mullahs of Tehran rather than our friends in the United States over what is happening in the Persian Gulf’.