UK ‘will not be trapped’ in the Irish backstop

THE European Union does not want to ‘trap’ the UK in the backstop, Irish premier Leo Varadkar insisted yesterday.

Mr Varadkar, whose hardline stance has infuriated many Tory MPs, appeared to soften his position, saying he was ‘happy to give assurances’ to help Theresa May win her crunch Commons vote next week.

Dublin also indicated it would not block a British request to delay Brexit.

German foreign minister Heiko Maas also urged British MPs to ‘act responsibly’ and back Mrs May’s deal – as he said Berlin would stand shoulder to shoulder with Dublin over the need for a Brexit backstop to prevent the return of a hard border.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr Varadkar said there was ‘close contact between the UK and EU institutions on whether a further set of written guarantees, explanations and assurances could make a difference’.

He added: ‘A lot of the opposition to the withdrawal agreement and the backstop might be based on suppositions and misunderstandings about our intent as a European Union. We don’t want to trap the UK into anything – we want to get on to the talks about the future relationship right away. I think it’s those kind of assurances we are happy to give.’

Mrs May is pushing for a pledge from the EU that trade talks will be completed no more than 12 months after the end of the Brexit transition, which would effectively limit the duration of any backstop period.

But British and EU officials are still wrangling over the precise wording of any concession. The PM told the Cabinet yesterday that an agreement may not come until the weekend or even Monday – just 24 hours before the planned vote on her deal.

Mr Maas said the EU stood in ‘full solidarity’ with Dublin over the need for a backstop. Speaking during a visit to Ireland, he added: ‘Avoiding a hard border in Ireland is a fundamental concern for the EU.’

Former Brexit secretary David Davis said Mr Varadkar’s comments ‘won’t be enough’ to head off a massive Tory rebellion.

Mr Davis said any limit to the backstop would need to be ‘legally binding’. He claimed that the EU was ‘testing the mettle of the British Government’.