Boris Johnson has dramatically ramped up his war of words with Brussels by demanding that EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier reopens the Brexit deal – because he no longer has the authority to impose terms on the UK.
As part of a new ‘shock and awe’ plan by Downing Street to put the EU on the back foot, Mr Johnson’s Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay warned that Mr Barnier should be given new negotiating orders by the EU or face the inevitability of No Deal.
In a hard-hitting article for today’s Mail on Sunday, Mr Barclay argues that the European elections in May reconstituted the EU – meaning Mr Barnier’s mandate to insist on the harsh terms of the Withdrawal Agreement is no longer valid.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives to meet emergency crews during a visit to Whaley Bridge Football Club in Derbyshire as work continues at Toddbrook reservoir in Whaley Bridge
Mr Johnson is embroiled in a high-stakes, last-ditch effort to persuade Mr Barnier to drop the controversial Northern Irish backstop from the agreement in time to pass the measure through the Commons – a process he refers to as a ‘backstopectomy’.
Theresa May’s failure to pass her deal in the face of trenchant opposition from MPs to the backstop led to the fall of her Government.
Mr Johnson will today announce a £1.8 billion funding injection for the NHS to deliver on his controversial promise during the 2016 referendum to give the Health Service a Brexit boost.
Meanwhile, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage accused the Prime Minister of secretly plotting to delay Brexit beyond the October 31 deadline by failing to trigger the legislation which would enshrine the date in law.
Michel Barnier, European Chief Negotiator for the United Kingdom (left) and Stephen Barclay – Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (right)
Mr Farage told this newspaper: ‘If Boris was honest about his “do or die” claim about leaving on Halloween, as he has stated many times, why has he not brought into force the legislation that will do just that? It should be the very first action of any Prime Minister claiming they are committed to Brexit.’
No 10’s ‘shock and awe’ tactics of aggressive demands and blunt ultimatums – intended to rattle the EU sufficiently to bring them back to the negotiating table – have angered Mr Barnier, who is understood to have complained about the ‘rudeness’ of Mr Johnson’s team.
Mr Barclay writes: ‘Michel Barnier is telling us his instructions from the EU mean he cannot change it. As he told me when we spoke this week, his mandate is his mandate – he can only negotiate what the Commission and EU leaders have agreed. But the political realities have changed since his instructions were last set. Since the last mandate was agreed, 61 per cent of MEPs in the European Parliament have changed. Such a fundamental shift illustrates the need for a change of approach… otherwise No Deal is coming down the tracks.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House Edinburgh
He adds: ‘The unalterable fact is that the Withdrawal Agreement was voted down and the parliamentary arithmetic remains unchanged… There is simply no chance of any deal being passed which includes the anti-democratic backstop. This is the reality that the EU have to face… The truth is that a deal is entirely possible if the EU take a reasonable and sensible approach. They should start by giving their chief negotiator the room to negotiate.’
Shoegate part two
Boris with scuffed heels
Last week, Boris was so busy working on a speech in Manchester that he didn’t even tie his shoelaces. This week, the PM underlined his reputation for shoddy footwear by flashing a pair of scuffed heels while meeting Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland. In contrast, his predecessor Theresa May revelled in displaying her famous kitten heels.
Mr Farage made his claim after Eurosceptic Tory MP members of the European Research Group (ERG) joined forces with senior Brexit Party figures to put pressure on the Prime Minister to commit to leave at the end of October.
The arch-Brexiteers discuss strategy on a secret WhatsApp group called the Brexit Consortium, which last week was the forum for vigorous debate about why Mr Johnson has not yet invoked Section 1 of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 – the legislation which sets the date for leaving the EU.
It comes as allies of Mr Johnson have privately boasted about having ‘neutered’ the ERG’s guerilla tactics by giving the group’s leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg, a job as Leader of the Commons and humiliating the group’s eccentric deputy, Steve Baker, by offering him a ‘powerless’ junior Minister job.
It has led the hardcore rump of the group, numbering between ten and 15 members and known as the ‘spartans’, to team up with members of Mr Farage’s party to threaten to bring down Mr Johnson if he tries to delay Brexit beyond October 31.
Mr Johnson last night praised the ‘astonishing achievements’ of the NHS, but noted the pressures, delays and cancellations facing patients ‘which is why I am so determined to deliver now on the promises of that 2016 referendum campaign’.
He added: ‘It is thanks to this country’s strong economic performance that we are now able to announce £1.8 billion more for the NHS to buy vital new kit and confirm new upgrades for 20 hospitals across the country’. Mr Johnson also said he was starting work immediately on plans to tackle the injustice of social care, a problem ‘shirked for decades’.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, said: ‘The Withdrawal Agreement is the best and only deal on the table. The backstop stays… Ramping up No Deal plans to neuter the Brexit Party is totally irresponsible. The EU will remain calm and united.
‘The only winners from a disorderly Brexit are our common foes, like Vladimir Putin, who want to see us divided. If there has to be a Brexit, let it be an orderly one.’
A Downing Street source said: ‘The Prime Minister and all those around him couldn’t have been clearer – we leave on October 31 come what may. It’s vital we restore the trust of voters.’