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Brussels will put up hard border in Northern Ireland if there’s a No Deal Brexit, Juncker admits
BRUSSELS will put up a hard border in Northern Ireland if there's a No Deal Brexit, Jean Claude Juncker admitted today.
In a move that will cause fury, the EU boss said "yes" there would have to be border checks if Britain quit the bloc without an agreement in place at the end of October.
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It totally contradicts what other EU figures have said in the past, insisting there won't be such a border.
Boris Johnson has promised he won't put up any hard border in Northern Ireland, and wouldn't risk a return to any kind of violence.
But Mr Juncker told Sky News today: "We have to make sure that the interests of the European Union and of the internal market will be preserved.
"We have to preserve the health and the safety of our citizens.";
And he even claimed it would be the fault of Britain if the EU put a border up, saying: "Sometimes I have the impression that some people are forgetting about the history. But history will be back immediately."
The thorny issue of the Northern Ireland border has paralysed Brexit talks and forced Theresa May out of office as she couldn't pass her deal with the hated backstop in.
It would tie the whole of Britain to Brussels rules for years to come if we didn't get a trade deal sorted.
Mr Juncker claimed earlier this week he wasn't tied specifically to the backstop, and was open to ideas about how to solve the impasse.
The blistering comments came just days after Ireland’s deputy PM Simon Coveney said a No Deal would lead to civic unrest.
Tory Brexiteers yesterday slammed Mr Juncker for using the peace process to try to “up the ante” in the Brexit negotiations.
Ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith told The Sun: “I think Mr Juncker needs to have a few more early nights.”
Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary last year insisted the Government’s job in Ireland was to stop the border becoming “significantly harder”. Officials have repeatedly insisted the UK would not demand a border whatever the outcome of the Brexit talks.
No.10 is trying to kill off the backstop – which would tie the UK to EU customs rules to avoid the return of customs posts between the Republic and the North. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay has urged the EU to sanction alternative arrangements – such as checks away from the border and trusted trader schemes.
The Government is looking at several plans to persuade Brussels to ditch the backstop and come to a last-minute deal.
One plan is to keep Northern Ireland tied to some EU rules on food if we leave without a deal on October 31, which would mean goods could flow between the North and Republic.
But Dominic Raab appeared to play down such an idea today, telling the BBC: "No, of course, that would be wrong."
Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday revealed that Boris is considering whether to put a possible Brexit deal in his Queen's speech as part of plans to ram it through the Commons.
It would be a hugely controversial plan as it would force MPs who backed Boris' new cash for schools, the NHS and police to get behind a deal too.
If MPs voted it down, traditionally the PM of the day would resign and call an election.
The Queen's Speech is in the diary for October 14 and the votes just days later - after a crunch EU summit when Boris hopes to finally secure a Brexit deal.
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Boris could shut down Parliament AGAIN if court rules against him
BORIS Johnson could shut down Parliament for a SECOND time if he's forced to bring MPs back to Westminster, Dominic Raab hinted today.
The Foreign Secretary said it would be wrong to take “levers off the table in our negotiations with Brussels.”
This week the Supreme Court is due to rule whether Boris misled the Queen in his advice to shut down Parliament last month.
The PM insisted it was so he can bring forward new laws, but critics said it was to stifle Remainer bids to block Brexit.
Jeremy Corbyn said today he would demand Boris recalls Parliament if the Supreme Court rules against Boris.
And Mr Raab confirmed the Government would abide by the ruling when it comes.
"I think, let's wait and see what the first judgement decides and then we'll understand the lie of the land," he told the Andrew Marr Show today.
Meanwhile, ex-PM David Cameron has warned Boris not to break the law and ignore a pledge to ask the EU for an extension if there'a not a deal sorted.
He told Sky today: "No deal is not a good idea. Breaking the law is not a good idea.
"Focus everything you've got on getting that deal, and that's what he's doing, to be fair to him."
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Tories will collapse if no Brexit by Oct 31, warns Gove
THE TORIES will collapse if Boris doesn't deliver Brexit by October 31, Michael Gove warned today.
The Cabinet Office chief - who is in charge of No Deal Brexit planning - said today that Britain was on the "razor's edge of peril".
And if politicians make the "wrong decisions" they will see the party's booming poll ratings "collapse".
Writing in the Sunday Times he said: "We cannot disappoint the country again. We have seen this movie before. We know how it ends."
And he added: "Every outcome other than leaving on time risks yet graver damage not just to the Conservative Party but to our democracy.
"Conservative voters, leave voters and swing voters have had enough of delay and drift: their faith in MPs is fraying."
Boris has promised to get Britain out of the EU by the end of October, no matter what.
EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker says UK 'can get a deal' in boost for Boris Johnson and he doesn't have 'erotic relation to backstop'
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