Johnson confident he is closing on a deal

Let’s get this thing done, says PM as he heads off for meeting with Juncker

BORIS JOHNSON has said he “passionately” believes he can clinch a new Brexit deal with Brussels after giving the clearest indication yet that an agreement is close.

As he heads to Luxembourg today for his first meeting with Jean-claude Juncker, the European Commission president, the Prime Minister says he is working “flat out” to avoid no deal.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson says he wants to “get this thing done” so that Britain can emerge from Brexit “on a brighter, more cheerful, more confident and global path”.

He has become markedly more optimistic of reaching a deal since Parliament was suspended, and yesterday said he was “very confident”, with “real signs of movement” over the Northern Irish backstop and “a huge amount of progress” in talks with Brussels.

In the latest sign that Mr Johnson is preparing to compromise, Stephen Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, disclosed that Britain could remain tied to the EU until the end of 2022, with a transition period lasting longer than three years.

Mr Barclay insisted a “landing zone” for a deal was in sight, but cautioned there was “significant work yet to do”.

Downing Street officials were keen to damp down expectations of a breakthrough today, suggesting there was “a long way to go” and that “no one is going to be blinking any time soon”.

But Mr Johnson continues to shift his rhetoric away from a no-deal exit, as he expresses further optimism in The Telegraph today about the chances of reaching an agreement. He writes: “If we can make enough progress in the next few days, I intend to go to that crucial summit on Oct 17 and finalise an agreement that will protect the interests of business and citizens on both sides of the channel, and on both sides of the border in Ireland.

“I believe passionately that we can do it, and I believe that such an agreement is in the interests not just of the UK but of our European friends ... we are working flat out to get one.”

There have been signs in the past week that the DUP is, for the first time, prepared to accept a different degree of alignment with the EU than the rest of the UK, as long as the Northern Ireland Assembly can be reconvened and given the final say. Yesterday, Mr Juncker claimed he still did not know “what the British want in detail”.

In an interview with a Sunday newspaper, Mr Johnson said “huge” progress was being made in the talks, but said Britain would break free from the EU like the Incredible Hulk if there was no deal, because: “The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets.”

Guy Verhofstadt, the chief Brexit negotiator for the European Parliament, mocked Mr Johnson, saying: “Is the EU supposed to be scared by this?”

A Downing Street source said: “The Prime Minister could not be clearer that he will not countenance any more delays. This is why the PM will stress to Mr Juncker that, while he wants to secure a deal, if no deal can be agreed by Oct 18, his policy is to leave without a deal on Oct 31 – and reject any delay offered by the EU.”

‘They will be damaging opportunities for people to get into work and that’d be unbelievably stupid’

LABOUR will scrap the Government’s universal credit scheme, with plans set to be unveiled next week, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

The Opposition had previously denied that it was scrapping universal credit in July. However, this newspaper understands that the intricacies of the policy have been discussed by shadow cabinet ministers in recent days, with plans having been discussed in multiple departments.

A senior source said Labour’s plan to scrap the policy was “medium-term” with a series of “short-term fixes” mooted in the meantime. These shortterm fixes are understood to include an end to sanctions, the five-week wait and the three child limit.

A source involved said the fixes were designed to “point in the direction of a bigger change”.

Meanwhile, John Mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, said he was going to use Labour’s manifesto to crack down on the “enablers” of tax avoidance. He also said that he wanted to see widespread “trade union rights and sectoral collective bargaining” throughout the entire economy, adding that companies with their own share schemes would be exempt.

Damian Green,the former welfare secretary, said: “If Labour will put [universal credit] at risk, they will be damaging the opportunities of people to get into work and move up the ladder, and that would be unbelievably stupid.”

Matthew Lesh, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute said: “There is always room for reform, but dismantling universal credit will cost billions, mean higher taxes, and undermine our record low unemployment.” Labour declined to comment.