EU: WE CAN DO A BREXIT DEAL BY NOVEMBER
Barnier’s boost for crisis-hit PM
BRUSSELS could strike a Brexit deal with us within weeks, the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier claimed yesterday.
His surprise statement on a visit to Slovenia came hours after Theresa May was warned up to 80 Tory MPs could derail her Chequers plan amid a “catastrophic split” in her party.
It also came as the Prime Minister hit back at leading Leaver Boris Johnson for an article in which he compared her with a suicide bomber over her handling of Brexit.
Mrs May’s spokesman said: “This isn’t language the PM would choose to use. Beyond that I don’t plan on giving this article further oxygen.
“The PM is fully focused on the Brexit negotiations, which are at a very important stage, and on delivering on the verdict of the British people.”
And boosting hopes of a deal, Mr Barnier said: “If we are realistic we are able to reach an agreement on the first stage of the negotiation, the Brexit treaty, within six or eight weeks. Taking into account the time necessary for the ratification process... we must reach an agreement before the beginning of November. I think it is possible.” Mrs May travels to Salzburg next week for talks with fellow EU leaders, followed by a crunch Brussels summit next month. Her spokesman said: “We are focused on securing a deal in October.” Hailing an “intensification in the talks” over the summer, he added: “That is obviously something we called for and you have seen progress continuing to be made.”
But leading Tory Leaver Steve Baker, who quit as a Brexit Minister over the Chequers blueprint, said the PM faces “a massive problem” because of the scale of opposition among grassroots members.
Meanwhile, Downing Street denied drawing up a damning dossier on Mr Johnson’s affairs and history of inflammatory comments to thwart a leadership bid. It comes after Mr Johnson, 54, who has split from wife of 25 years Marina Wheeler, was linked to former Tory communications boss Carrie Symonds, 30.