Who is Simon Coveney and what did he say to BBC host John Humphrys about Boris Johnson and Brexit?
IRELAND's deputy prime minister Simon Coveney has repeatedly caused uproar in London by sneering at the UK's Brexit plans.
Now the blustering politician has clashed with BBC big beast John Humphrys. Here's what you need to know.
Who is Simon Coveney?
Cork-born dad of three Simon Coveney, 46, is a politician in Ireland's ruling Fine Gael party.
He has been Tánaiste - deputy prime minister - since November 2017, and is also Ireland's minister for foreign affairs and trade.
The latter post puts him at the heart of Brexit negotiations, particularly the key issue of the border with Northern Ireland.
In June he sparked outraged when he compared the possibility of a hard Brexit to the Berlin Wall.
He made the toxic slur on a visit to the site of the hated wall which used to divide the German capital.
Mr Coveney said Germans understood the importance of rejecting “barriers, checks and fences”.
In July he dismissed Britain's planning for a No Deal Brexit as “bluff and bravado”.
And he claimed the UK "cannot afford” to crash out of the EU.
Furious Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg blasted Mr Coveney - a former MEP - as EC chief Jean-Claude Juncker's "patsy".
What did he say about John Humphrys and Boris Johnson?
Simon Coveney locked horns with veteran interviewer John Humphrys on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
He was quizzed on whether the Brussels "backstop" plan would carve off Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
Mr Coveney said "nobody is suggesting that Northern Ireland stays in the EU" but Mr Humphrys said that was the "effect in the eyes of many".
The interviewer said: "Certainly a lot of people in this country are suggesting, including Boris Johnson and David Davis, that Parliament is deeply divided on this issue."
Mr Coveney said: "Johnson doesn't lead the Cabinet. He's not even in the Cabinet."
Mr Humphrys said: "He speaks for a very strong powerful force of public opinion.
"I’m putting to you that there are a lot of views in this country and surely Ireland has to respect those views as well. They have to take them into account."
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The Irish deputy PM hit back: "Well, John, you sound like you are speaking for him, quite frankly."
The BBC man denied it and continued to press him on the point.
Mr Coveney insisted Ireland "absolutely respects" British views but demanded the UK abide by backstop commitments made previously by Theresa May.
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