PM’s ‘Brexit games cast a shadow over trade talks’

BORIS JOHNSON has been warned not to ‘play games’ with his threat to break international law over Brexit.

The prime minister’s introduction of legislation that could override his own withdrawal agreement with the EU ‘is casting a dark shadow over the ongoing negotiations’, Germany’s Europe minister Michael Roth said.

Both sides have continued to clash over the UK Internal Market Bill, which prompted Brussels to threaten legal action if it was not changed by the end of the month.

The ninth round of formal talks resumed yesterday, with fisheries and the level playing field on the agenda.

Mr Roth (pictured) said both sides must now ‘work with urgency to find a sensible solution’ and warned ‘trust has suffered a lot recently’ because of the controversial bill being debated by MPs.

‘The EU cannot and will not accept this approach. It is casting a dark shadow over the ongoing negotiations,’ he wrote in Der Spiegel magazine. Mr Roth accused the UK of having acted to ‘recklessly jeopardise’ Irish border arrangements preserving the hard-won peace process.

‘With readiness to compromise from both sides, with mutual trust and goodwill, a fair deal is still possible. But it is not helpful to play games,’ he said. On Monday, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove told Brussels the UK would not back down over parts of the bill he said were needed as a ‘safety net’ for peace if trade talks failed. The transition period with the EU ends on December 31 and Mr Johnson has set an October 15 deadline to reach a new trade deal with the bloc.