Irish leader Leo Varadkar 'reneged on secret Brexit compromise over Northern Ireland' – Daily Mail, Daily Mail

Irish leader Leo Varadkar left Boris Johnson’s plans for a Brexit deal in tatters by reneging on a secret compromise over Northern Ireland, it has been claimed.

(A Number) source said Mr Varadkar had agreed to soften his position on Northern Ireland remaining in the customs union if Mr Johnson agreed to keep the province in the single market.

The compromise was discussed on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting in New York last month,The Timesreported .

British officials reportedly briefed their Irish counterparts on Mr Johnson’s plans in advance, hoping that Brussels would come around to a new deal if Dublin agreed to the proposals.

However, Mr Varadkar came out swinging against Mr Johnson’s proposed new deal when it was published last week, and hopes of an agreement are now hanging by a thread.

The Taoiseach said he did not ‘understand’ how customs checks between North and South could be avoided under Mr Johnson’s plans.

Mr Varadkar is expected to host the British PM on a last-ditch trip to Dublin this week as leaders scramble to find a replacement for the controversial Irish backstop just three weeks before the October 31 Deadline.

The two leaders had a 40 – minute telephone call yesterday after negotiations with Brussels went up in flames on a day of bitter recriminations.

‘Both sides strongly reiterated their desire to reach a Brexit deal. They hope to meet in person later this week, ‘Downing Street said.

Yesterday Mr Varadkar said Ireland and the EU would not accept an agreement at ‘any cost ‘.

‘There are some fundamental objectives that haven’t changed for the past three years and we need them guaranteed,’ he told RTE news.

‘I think it is going to be very difficult to secure an agreement by next week, quite frankly.

‘Essentially what the United Kingdom has done is repudiate the deal that we negotiated in good faith with Prime Minister May’s government over two years and sort of put half of that now back on the table and are saying, ‘That’s a concession’. And of course it isn’t really. ‘

Earlier an extraordinary public slanging match broke out following a series of No 10 briefings claiming German Chancellor Angela Merkel had made clear a deal was now ‘overw helmingly unlikely ‘.

Number 10 sources said Mrs Merkel told the PM during a stormy 30 – minute call that the province must remain within the EU’s customs union

But Mr Johnson retorted that her position meant a deal was ‘essentially impossible, not just now but ever’.

A Downing Street source said the call – which effectively reads the last rites on hopes for an agreement before next week’s EU summit – was a ‘clarifying moment’.

‘If this represents a new established position then it means a deal is essentially impossible not just now but ever,’ the No 10 source said.

‘It also made clear that they are willing to torpedo the Good Friday Agreement.’

In response, EU council president Donald Tusk ranted on Twitter that the PM was risking the ‘security and interests of our people’ by refusing to make concessions.

The PM’s spokesman swiped back that he had ‘chosen to conduct these talks by personal telephone conversations with EU leaders, so I will refrain from commenting on social media.’

Jean-Claude Juncker said that if negotiations fail, ‘the explanation will be found in the British camp, adding:’ The original sin is found on the islands and not on the continent ‘ .

Mr Johnson met his Cabinet for crisis talks after the conversation yesterday morning.

The PM also hosted European Parliament president David Sassoli in Downing Street on Tuesday, but the MEP left saying ‘no progress’ had been made.

The meltdown with the EU appears to have been carefully choreographed, with Brexit minister Michael Gove unveiling a ‘preparedness’ paper on No Deal shortly after the Merkel bust-up emerged.

Last night Parliament was prorogued – for real this time – ahead of a Queen’s Speech next week.

Downing Street had already painted a grim picture of the consequences of rejecting the UK’s ‘fair and reasonable’ blueprint.

One source – claimed to be maverick strategist Dominic Cummings – explosively claimed that the government will make clear that any EU country supporting a delay to the October 31 Brexit deadline would be engaging in ‘hostile interference’ in British politics.

As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, DUP leader Arlene Foster raged: ‘The comments from the German Chancellor to the Pri me Minister that Northern Ireland must remain in the EU Customs Union forever now reveal the real objective of Dublin and theEuropean Union.

‘For the United Kingdom to be asked to leave a part of its sovereign territory in a foreign organization of which the UK would no longer be a part and over which we would have no say whatsoever is beyond crazy. No UK Government could ever concede such a surrender.

‘The EU is not interested in a negotiated outcome at this time. Their position is the UK can only leave with a deal if it agrees a binding piece of international law permanently tying either the whole country or a part of it to the EU’s legal order over which it has no control.

‘The true purpose of the “backstop” is now in the open for an to see. Those who eagerly supported the backstop as the best of both worlds can now see the error of that assessment. It was neither temporary nor an insurance policy. ‘

Nigel Farage tweeted: ‘The EU were never going to negotiate in good faith. We simply have to leave with a clean break. ‘

But shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said the government was trying to ‘sabotage’ the talks.

‘This is yet another cynical attempt by No 10 to sabotage the negotiations, ‘he said.

‘Boris Johnson will never take responsibility for his own failure to put forward a credible deal. His strategy from day one has been for a no-deal Brexit.

‘It is now more important than ever that parliament unites to prevent this reckless government crashing us out of the EU at the end of the month. ‘

While technical talks between officials continued yesterday, EU leaders have so far refused to hold face-to-face talks with Mr Johnson on his plan for replacing the controversial Irish backstop.

Mr Johnson needs a deal sorted by the end of October 17 / 18 if he is to avoid a dilemma over the Benn Act, which compels him to ask Brussels for an extension if he cannot get an agreement past MPs when he returns, a move he has ruled out taking.

The PM said yesterday that Brussels had been presented with ‘a big step forward, big advance, big compromise by the UK Government’ , but complained the EU was not engaging with the details.

And in an incendiary briefing, a No 10 source told the Spectator: ‘They think now that if there is another delay we will keep coming back with new

‘This won’t happen. We’ll either leave with No Deal on 31 October or there will be an election and then we will leave with No Deal. ‘

The brutal assault – which former Cabinet minister Amber Rudd claimed came from Mr Cummings – emerged after Mr Johnson’s proposals hit a huge roadblock.

EU politicians have branded them a ‘joke’ and Emmanuel Macron set a deadline of Friday for the UK to make more concessions.

Upping the ante yesterday, Mr Tusk tweeted directly at Mr Johnson, saying: ‘What’s at stake is not winning some stupid blame game.

‘At stake is the future of Europe and the UK as well as the security and interests of our people.

‘You don’t want a deal, you don’t want an extension, you don’t want to revoke, quo vadis (where are you going)?’

Irish deputy PM Simon Coveney also waded into the row, saying: ‘Hard to disagree – reflect the frustration across EU and the enormity of what’s at stake for us all. We remain open to finalize a fair Brexit deal but need a UK Govt willing to work with EU to get it done. ‘

Asked if the PM was playing a ‘blame game’, the PM’s spokesman shot back: ‘Absolutely not. It is not us talking in that language. ‘

The briefing around the call caused anger in some circles, with claims it misrepresented Mrs Merkel’s typically diplomatic approach.

But government sources flatly denied the exchanges had been ‘made up’.

It is understood Mr Johnson initially asked for the German Chancellor’s ‘help’ with Michel Barnier because he was ‘not negotiating’ with the UK.

Mrs Merkel ‘let the cat out of the bag’ by making clear that Northern Ireland in the customs union was a red line, at which point Mr Johnson insisted that was’ not going to be accepted ‘.

The source said Mrs Merkel ‘did not mean it in an aggressive way ‘, but her words had put the EU’s stance into sharp focus.