ALL PACT AND READY TO GO?
Confusion after Raab gives date for deal on Brexit
MINISTERS are poised to strike a Brexit deal with Brussels in less than three weeks, Dominic Raab claimed last night.
The Brexit Secretary told MPs he believes a pact will be agreed before November 21, fuelling hopes the deadlock in talks has been broken.
In a letter to the Commons Exiting the EU Committee, he told chairman Hilary Benn: “I would be happy to give evidence to the committee when a deal is finalised, and currently expect 21 November to be suitable.
“The end is now firmly in sight and, while obstacles remain, it cannot be beyond us to navigate them.”
But confusion reigned when a Brexit department spokesman said: “There is no set date for the negotiations to conclude. November 21 was the date offered by the Chair of the Select Committee for the Secretary of State to give evidence.”
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said it must be “one of the quickest u-turns in political history”.
He said: “Dominic Raab told MPs that a Brexit deal would be done by the end of November. Three hours later his own department was forced to correct the record. What a mess.” Dominic Raab checks watch
Setting a date piles pressure on negotiating teams to come up with a pact in less than three weeks.
Mr Raab’s revelation also surprised Downing Street. A No10 spokesman said the Government wanted to strike a deal “as soon as possible”.
Negotiations have stalled over a “backstop” to guarantee there will be no hard border in Ireland.
PM Theresa May insists she will not accept an EU plan for a customs border between Northern Ireland and the mainland, while Brussels is resisting her plan to keep the whole UK temporarily in a customs union.
Mr Raab said the UK and EU “are not far from an agreement”. He went on: “We agree on the principle of a UK-wide customs backstop. An agreement should be possible. Both sides agree this cannot provide for a permanent relationship.”
No10 said a deal would have to be agreed by all 28 EU countries.
Mrs May, who last night updated 130 business chiefs on Brexit and the Budget, was forced to confirm Britain will leave the bloc on March 29 amid Tory fears Brexit could be delayed.
She got a boost yesterday when top parliamentary official Sir David Natzler said she can ignore MPs’ demands for Brexit alternatives when they are given a non-binding “meaningful vote” on any deal. But he suggested they could still have a “considerable political” impact.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told MPs last night his department is drawing up contingency plans to airlift Britons from Europe if planes are grounded under a no-deal Brexit.