‘Extend Article 50 to avoid no deal’

The UK can remove the threat of no deal by halting or delaying its EU departure, the Irish prime minister has said in an intervention that will been as a boost to opponents of Brexit.

Leo Varadkar said he wanted to help give assurances on the Irish border backstop plan that would allow the UK to ratify the draft withdrawal treaty, without changing its substance.

Mr Varadkar told the Irish parliament in Dublin: “It remains in the hands of the UK to decide that we don’t end up in a no-deal scenario.

“The option is there to revoke Article 50, the option is there to extend Article 50 and while there may not be a majority for anything, or at least any deal, at the moment in the House of Commons, I do believe that there is a majority that the UK should not be plunged into a no-deal scenario.

“It is in their hands at any point in time to take the threat of no deal off the table, either by revoking Article 50 or, if that is a step too far, by extending it.”

Prime Minister Theresa May is due in Dublin today for talks with the Taoiseach in the latest stop on a tour of EU capitals. Mr Varadkar spoke with European Council president Donald Tusk by phone on Monday afternoon ahead of this week’s meeting of leaders in Brussels.

Mr Varadkar added: “Our approach is that we have a deal on the table, a deal that has the support of 28 governments, negotiated over 15 months.

“Our objective is to get the deal ratified by the House of Commons … giving the UK the assurances it may need but never compromising on the basic fundamental substance and written letter of the backstop.”

In preparation for Brexit, the Irish government has said it is accelerating recruitment of customs and veterinary officers, and putting infrastructure in ports and airports, but not on the land border with Northern Ireland.