Johnson admits he faces ‘tough’ negotiations over backstop ideas

Boris Johnson acknowledged that he faced “tough” negotiations with Brussels as he prepares to set out his formal proposals for a Brexit deal.

The prime minister accepted that customs checks could be needed in Northern Ireland but insisted they could be “minimal and nonintrusive”.

He expects to find out within days whether he can secure a Brexit deal with the European Union.

The prime minister’s formal proposals on measures to replace the controversial Irish backstop are due to be submitted later this week and Mr Johnson said it would soon become apparent if there is “no way of getting it over the line from their point of view”.

Mr Johnson urged leaders in Brussels, Dublin and Berlin to work with him to strike a deal ahead of the October 31 scheduled Brexit date.

The prime minister and other members of the government distanced themselves from briefings which suggested the UK had proposed a series of customs posts being built between five and 10 miles back either side of the Irish border.

But in a BBC interview he acknowledged that some checks may be necessary.

“If the EU is going to insist on customs checks as we come out as it is, then we will have to accept that reality.”

He said proposals for an all-Ireland zone for animal health measures would also “logically imply some more checks down the Irish Sea”, something which could test the prime minister’s alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party.

But Mr Johnson said he believed the checks would be “liveable with, provided it’s done in the right way”.

His comments came after Dublin rejected proposals – apparently contained in a discussion paper – for customs posts along both sides of the Irish border to replace the backstop.

The backstop – a contingency plan which would keep Northern Ireland closely aligned to Brussels’ customs and regulatory rules if no other method is found of preventing a hard border – is loathed by Brexiteers and Mr Johnson is determined to remove it from the Withdrawal Agreement that predecessor Mrs May negotiated with the EU.

European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said: “We have not received any proposals from the United Kingdom that meet all the objectives of the backstop.”