This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/sep/16/brexit-latest-news-boris-johnson-talks-juncker-eu-must-show-flexibility-says-raab-ahead-of-boris-johnsons-key-meeting-with-juncker-live-news-latest-news

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 10 Version 11
Brexit: Boris Johnson accused of creating 'nightmare' of uncertainty for Europeans – live news Brexit: Boris Johnson accused of creating 'nightmare' of uncertainty for Europeans – live news
(41 minutes later)
And that wraps up the interview. Once again, the latest posts should be read alongside the more comprehensive summary posted earlier this afternoon.
Referring to the man he considered a friend, Michael Gove, Cameron says:
To be fair to Michael, he was a very long standing Eurosceptic. He seemed in two minds about it and I thought: ‘If he’s in two minds surely stick with the team and the programme and the government and the work that we’re doing together’.
Asked if he felt betrayed by Gove, Cameron adds:
He said to me at the time: ‘If I come out for Brexit, I’ll make one speech and that’s it’. And, look, I believed that. Now maybe that was naive; maybe that was wrong but I mean, I start from the proposition that if someone you’ve known for 20 years tells you something it’s probably true.
[During the campaign,] he went from this liberal, modern, compassionate Conservative to something quite different.
Asked about his reference to Gove and the prime minister, Boris Johnson, as “ambassadors for the post-truth age”, Cameron says:
There was some things that happened in the campaign and things that Michael and Boris signed up to that I found deeply depressing because I didn’t think it was who they were.
Cameron is discussing the use of chemical weapons in Syria. ITV’s Tom Bradby shows him a television news report of such an attack and asks him to discuss his reaction, as well as those of other world leaders. Cameron tells him:
I watched it on the television and the sight of the children laid out in rows made me think of Ivan and everything that had happened to me and I thought it was just so appalling. I felt we’ve got to act. President Obama and I had discussed the red line, I think at the G8 in Northern Ireland of the use of chemical weapons and so I immediately thought; well we must, you know, get together and act.
Bradby asks Cameron: “At this point, it takes [Obama] four days, you know — four whole days— to even return your telephone calls. Cameron responds:
I think a more automatic response would have been better. As it was; it took four days to speak; we then agreed a plan.
Referring to the vote on intervention against Assad in Syria, Cameron adds:
I lost that vote; the first time a prime minister had lost a vote in the House of Commons on a major issue of foreign policy. I blame the people who voted against me, obviously, but I also blame myself.
I misread the situation but I think we should have acted. I’m not sure — I’m not saying it would have solved the Syrian crisis but it was a red line crossed, it was an appalling thing to happen. I made a passionate argument in parliament, but I lost that. I lost that vote.
ITV are broadcasting their interview with David Cameron now. It was heavily trailed and we published a fairly comprehensive summary here but we’ll bring you any other new lines as they emerge.
Labour have called on Liz Truss to resign as international trade secretary after she admitted her department allowed the sale of arms and military equipment that could be used by the Saudi regime in the conflict in Yemen.
In June, the court of appeal ruled that British arms sales to the kingdom were unlawful and the government undertook not to grant any new licences for equipment that “might be used in the conflict in Yemen”.
In a letter to the chair of the Commons committees on arms export controls, Liz Truss has admitted to a series of breaches.
In response, the shadow trade secretary, Barry Gardiner, has said:
Yet again, it appears there is one law for Conservative ministers and another for everyone else. The Tories have repeatedly claimed that we have the most robust licensing regime in the world. Now, it is clear that they cannot even abide by the rulings of the court of appeal. The department has failed to conduct proper assessments and essential information is not being relayed between government departments.
The people of the United Kingdom do not want to be complicit in fuelling the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the secretary of state must immediately suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Thousands of people have been killed in this war and it is staggering that the trade secretary thinks an apology will get her off the hook.
Liz Truss must provide a full account of why her department failed so miserably. If she cannot control her department, obey the law and do what is morally right, she should resign.
The SNP are not the only ones accusing Boris Johnson of seeking to avoid scrutiny this afternoon. Guy Verhofstadt is the European parliament’s Brexit coordinator.The SNP are not the only ones accusing Boris Johnson of seeking to avoid scrutiny this afternoon. Guy Verhofstadt is the European parliament’s Brexit coordinator.
From Incredible Hulk to Incredible Sulk pic.twitter.com/15x1Kd9FX7From Incredible Hulk to Incredible Sulk pic.twitter.com/15x1Kd9FX7
Sir Nicholas Soames, who had the Tory whip withdrawn after voting against the government earlier this month, has criticised Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, for going ahead with the empty lectern press conference in the first place:Sir Nicholas Soames, who had the Tory whip withdrawn after voting against the government earlier this month, has criticised Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, for going ahead with the empty lectern press conference in the first place:
Very poor behaviour by Luxembourg #showoff @BorisJohnson quite right not to be made a fool of #franklyunhelpfulgrandstandingVery poor behaviour by Luxembourg #showoff @BorisJohnson quite right not to be made a fool of #franklyunhelpfulgrandstanding
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has spoken to his Saudi Arabian and German counterparts about the attack on the Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia.Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has spoken to his Saudi Arabian and German counterparts about the attack on the Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia.
Everything you need to know about the Saudi Arabia oil attacksEverything you need to know about the Saudi Arabia oil attacks
He is scheduled to speak to the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, later today, as well as the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian. The Foreign and Commonwealth office said the UK “condemns the attack and is working closely with our international partners on the most effective response”.He is scheduled to speak to the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, later today, as well as the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian. The Foreign and Commonwealth office said the UK “condemns the attack and is working closely with our international partners on the most effective response”.
Boris Johnson is guilty of “dealing in fiction”, not in facts, the SNP’s Westminster leader claims. Ian Blackford challenged the prime minister to publish any serious proposals he had put forward in the attempt to secure a new Brexit deal.Boris Johnson is guilty of “dealing in fiction”, not in facts, the SNP’s Westminster leader claims. Ian Blackford challenged the prime minister to publish any serious proposals he had put forward in the attempt to secure a new Brexit deal.
In barely 24 hours, Boris Johnson has gone from being the Incredible Hulk to the Incredible Sulk. It is a humiliating indictment of Boris Johnson’s leadership that he turned on his heel and scurried away rather than face questions today.In barely 24 hours, Boris Johnson has gone from being the Incredible Hulk to the Incredible Sulk. It is a humiliating indictment of Boris Johnson’s leadership that he turned on his heel and scurried away rather than face questions today.
The empty podium beside Luxembourg’s PM was a damning symbol of this Tory government’s incompetence and lack of vision when it comes to Brexit, which is their only policy. This is a government in headlong retreat and on its last legs.The empty podium beside Luxembourg’s PM was a damning symbol of this Tory government’s incompetence and lack of vision when it comes to Brexit, which is their only policy. This is a government in headlong retreat and on its last legs.
The meeting between Boris Johnson and EU President Juncker has confirmed that the UK government has failed to bring forward a single proposal to end the Brexit mess. Boris Johnson must stop dealing in fiction and start addressing the facts.The meeting between Boris Johnson and EU President Juncker has confirmed that the UK government has failed to bring forward a single proposal to end the Brexit mess. Boris Johnson must stop dealing in fiction and start addressing the facts.
Last month, Angela Merkel gave Boris Johnson 30 days to bring forward meaningful and workable plans. We are 25 days in and, instead, not a single proposal has come forward and, instead, we have witnessed an unelected Tory leader shutting down parliament, purging his party and losing every single parliamentary vote.Last month, Angela Merkel gave Boris Johnson 30 days to bring forward meaningful and workable plans. We are 25 days in and, instead, not a single proposal has come forward and, instead, we have witnessed an unelected Tory leader shutting down parliament, purging his party and losing every single parliamentary vote.
The prime minister cannot continue to bluff his way around Europe. If he has proposals he should publish them now.The prime minister cannot continue to bluff his way around Europe. If he has proposals he should publish them now.
With a general election looming, the SNP will be putting Scotland’s opposition to Brexit and our right to choose our own future as an independent country at the heart of that contest.With a general election looming, the SNP will be putting Scotland’s opposition to Brexit and our right to choose our own future as an independent country at the heart of that contest.
Scotland’s voice has been completely ignored throughout this Brexit process and it’s clear that the people of Scotland deserve the choice of a better future than the Brexit chaos being imposed on us by a broken and bleak Westminster system.Scotland’s voice has been completely ignored throughout this Brexit process and it’s clear that the people of Scotland deserve the choice of a better future than the Brexit chaos being imposed on us by a broken and bleak Westminster system.
Johnson also insisted he wouldn’t delay the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on 31 October, should no deal be struck by then, while also promising to abide by the law requiring him to request a delay in those same circumstances.Johnson also insisted he wouldn’t delay the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on 31 October, should no deal be struck by then, while also promising to abide by the law requiring him to request a delay in those same circumstances.
He failed to explain how he intended to align these apparently contradictory positions. Here’s a portion of that exchange:He failed to explain how he intended to align these apparently contradictory positions. Here’s a portion of that exchange:
Kuenssberg asked Johnson how he intended to “get round” that law, noting that he has said he will not delay Brexit. He replied:Kuenssberg asked Johnson how he intended to “get round” that law, noting that he has said he will not delay Brexit. He replied:
I won’t. Here’s, here’s what I want. I will uphold the constitution I will obey the law but we will come out on October 31st.I won’t. Here’s, here’s what I want. I will uphold the constitution I will obey the law but we will come out on October 31st.
Kuenssberg again asked the prime minister: “But how, if MPs have changed the law to stop you doing that?” He responded:Kuenssberg again asked the prime minister: “But how, if MPs have changed the law to stop you doing that?” He responded:
We’re going to come out on October 31st and it’s vital that people understand that the UK will not extend. We won’t go on remaining in the EU beyond October. What on earth is the point? Do you know how much it costs?We’re going to come out on October 31st and it’s vital that people understand that the UK will not extend. We won’t go on remaining in the EU beyond October. What on earth is the point? Do you know how much it costs?
Once again, Kuenssberg asked Johnson: “But how will you do that if MPs have changed the law to stop you? Are you looking for a way round the law. Because that’s what it sounds like?” The prime minister again replied:Once again, Kuenssberg asked Johnson: “But how will you do that if MPs have changed the law to stop you? Are you looking for a way round the law. Because that’s what it sounds like?” The prime minister again replied:
We will obey the law but we will come out and we will come out, I should say, on October 31st.We will obey the law but we will come out and we will come out, I should say, on October 31st.
Kuenssberg tried yet again, asking: “But that means you are looking for a way round the law. I mean to be really clear about this, Parliament has changed the law to make it almost impossible to take us out of the EU without a deal at the end of October. But you say that you will not do it. That means that you must be looking for a way around the law?” Johnson replied:Kuenssberg tried yet again, asking: “But that means you are looking for a way round the law. I mean to be really clear about this, Parliament has changed the law to make it almost impossible to take us out of the EU without a deal at the end of October. But you say that you will not do it. That means that you must be looking for a way around the law?” Johnson replied:
Well you know those are your words. What we’re going to do is come out on October 31st deal or no deal.Well you know those are your words. What we’re going to do is come out on October 31st deal or no deal.
Kuenssberg pointed out to Johnson that the European commission has said it is “yet to see proposals that they think are viable and workable”. Johnson responded:Kuenssberg pointed out to Johnson that the European commission has said it is “yet to see proposals that they think are viable and workable”. Johnson responded:
Well, it’s certainly the case that the commission is still officially sticking on their position that the backstop has got to be there. But, clearly, if they think that we can come up with alternatives, then I think they’re in the mark. I think the big picture is that the commission would like to do a deal.Well, it’s certainly the case that the commission is still officially sticking on their position that the backstop has got to be there. But, clearly, if they think that we can come up with alternatives, then I think they’re in the mark. I think the big picture is that the commission would like to do a deal.
The prime minister has again failed to provide a clear picture of how he intends to strike a deal with the EU, despite again claiming to be optimistic he can do so. Boris Johnson was asked repeatedly by the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, to outline the details of the proposals he has made to the European Union. Johnson said:The prime minister has again failed to provide a clear picture of how he intends to strike a deal with the EU, despite again claiming to be optimistic he can do so. Boris Johnson was asked repeatedly by the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, to outline the details of the proposals he has made to the European Union. Johnson said:
I mean, there is a negotiation going on, has been for a long time now, about how to do this. So there’s a limit to how much the details benefit from publicity before we’ve actually done the deal.I mean, there is a negotiation going on, has been for a long time now, about how to do this. So there’s a limit to how much the details benefit from publicity before we’ve actually done the deal.
Kuenssberg asked him if he intended to “slice and dice the backstop”. Johnson replied:Kuenssberg asked him if he intended to “slice and dice the backstop”. Johnson replied:
The shape of it is all about who decides. Fundamentally, the problem with the backstop ... is that it’s a device by which the EU can continue after we’ve left to control our trade laws, control our tariffs, control huge chunks of our regulation and we have to keep accepting laws from Brussels long after we’ve left with no say on those laws. Now that just doesn’t work. It doesn’t work for the whole of the UK and it doesn’t work for Northern Ireland. So we have to find a way to avoid that situation.The shape of it is all about who decides. Fundamentally, the problem with the backstop ... is that it’s a device by which the EU can continue after we’ve left to control our trade laws, control our tariffs, control huge chunks of our regulation and we have to keep accepting laws from Brussels long after we’ve left with no say on those laws. Now that just doesn’t work. It doesn’t work for the whole of the UK and it doesn’t work for Northern Ireland. So we have to find a way to avoid that situation.
Kuenssberg tried again, suggesting that Johnson was “just articulating the problem that’s been articulated for ever about the backstop”. She asked him: “Can you foresee a solution, for example, where – in some areas – Northern Ireland would follow EU rules and the rest of the UK would not?” Johnson replied:Kuenssberg tried again, suggesting that Johnson was “just articulating the problem that’s been articulated for ever about the backstop”. She asked him: “Can you foresee a solution, for example, where – in some areas – Northern Ireland would follow EU rules and the rest of the UK would not?” Johnson replied:
What we want to see is a solution where the decision is taken by the UK and clearly that’s the problem with the backstop; it basically leaves the decision-making up to Brussels and that’s no good.What we want to see is a solution where the decision is taken by the UK and clearly that’s the problem with the backstop; it basically leaves the decision-making up to Brussels and that’s no good.
Kuenssberg tried yet again, asking the prime minister: “What’s the actual solution that you’re proposing? Is it giving more power to Stormont, for example, that’s being talked about a lot; that the Northern Irish assembly might be given a lock on opting out or opting in on EU regulation?” Johnson replied:Kuenssberg tried yet again, asking the prime minister: “What’s the actual solution that you’re proposing? Is it giving more power to Stormont, for example, that’s being talked about a lot; that the Northern Irish assembly might be given a lock on opting out or opting in on EU regulation?” Johnson replied:
These are certainly some of the ideas that are being talked about and as are the ideas that you’re familiar with to do with maximum facilitations, to do with checks away from the border all sorts of ways in which you can avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland. This is all doable. It’s all doable with energy and goodwill.These are certainly some of the ideas that are being talked about and as are the ideas that you’re familiar with to do with maximum facilitations, to do with checks away from the border all sorts of ways in which you can avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland. This is all doable. It’s all doable with energy and goodwill.
Here is the Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan on how Boris Johnson was treated in Luxembourg.
The Luxembourg PM chose to go ahead with what was, in effect, an anti-Brexit rally rather than a press conference. Petty but calculated gestures of this kind from Euro-federalists pushed Britain into wanting to leave in the first place.
That’s all from me for today. My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is now taking over.
Hilary Benn, the Labour chair of the Commons Brexit committee, has said that Boris Johnson has just four days to publish plans for an alternative to the backstop if he is to honour a promise he made to MPs. Benn has written to Johnson asking when the plans will appear. Here is his letter.
The contest to replace Ruth Davidson as Scottish Conservative leader has become another casualty of the chaos surrounding Brexit and the uncertainty around the timing of a general election.
Party sources have admitted the Scottish leadership election has been postponed almost certainly until next year, as they won’t have the capacity and time to stage one until both Brexit and the election are resolved.
“It’s genuinely a question of logistics; it’s impossible to run a leadership campaign in the middle of an election campaign,” said one, adding that the uncertainty at Westminster is expected within the Scottish party to drag on into 2020.
That leaves Davidson’s deputy, the former car dealer Jackson Carlaw, in charge. He deputised while she was on maternity leave and apparently relishes the task. “He’s a happy warrior; he’s one of those people who does actually enjoy it,” said one party figure, who points at Carlaw’s pedigree as a serial election candidate (he first stood for the party in 1982) and former Scottish party deputy chairman.
Some Scottish Tories moot postponing the leadership contest until after the next Holyrood election in 2021, citing the additional challenge of opposing Nicola Sturgeon’s push for an early Scottish independence vote – a push expected to intensify over coming months.
A delay of that length is highly unlikely. Carlaw offers continuity, is seasoned enough to enjoy the jousts with Sturgeon at first minister’s questions, and is imbued with self-confidence, but unlike Davidson has limited appeal amongvoters and little name recognition.
In 2005 he apologised for making racist jokes at the party’s general election manifesto launch, and has ruled himself out as a future leadership contender. In one recent interview, he described himself as being “at the beginning of the dinosaur end of political life”.
Here are the main points from Xavier Bettel’s extraordinary press conference. (See 3.31pm.) The prime minister of Luxembourg was speaking in English, but it is not his first language, and so occasionally I have tidied up his syntax just so that it reads more clearly.
Bettel accused Boris Johnson of creating a “nightmare” of uncertainty for EU citizens by failing to clarify what he wanted from Brexit. In his opening statement Bettel said:
Our people need to know what is going to happen to them in six weeks’ time. They need clarity, they need certainty and they need stability. You can’t hold their future hostage for party political gains.
At this point, gesturing to the point where Boris Johnson would have been standing if he had joined the press conference, Bettel went on:
Now it’s on Mr Johnson – he holds the future of all UK citizens and every EU citizen living in the UK in his hands. It’s his responsibility. Your people, our people, count on you – but the clock is ticking, use your time wisely.
In this there was an echo of what Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, said when the EU granted a Brexit extension in April. “Please do not waste this time,” Tusk said. Many EU leaders think the UK has wasted this time.
At another point, in response to a question about a possible extension to the transition period, Bettel again said EU citizens needed certainty. He said:
The fact is our citizens want to have certainty. As long as they don’t know what is going to happen they don’t know what will be their own future ... This is a nightmare.
People would love to have clarity, they would love to know what is going to happen.
He complained that Johnson had not tabled firm proposals for an alternative to the backstop. “We need more than just words,” he said in his opening statement, referring to the need for a proposal in writing. And then, in the Q&A, he said:
The meeting was longer than planned. We [talked] about the different positions of the UK government. But I repeat – I told him, I hear a lot, but I don’t read a lot. If they want us to be able to discuss anything, we need it on the written side.
He said the only written text on the table at the moment was the existing withdrawal agreement.
He dismissed Johnson’s claim that significant progress has been made in the talks. When asked about this, Bettel replied:
For me, I just have one withdrawal agreement on the table. And it’s the one from last year. There are no changes. There are no concrete proposals for the moment on the table. And I won’t give an agreement to ideas. We need written proposals and the time is ticking. So stop speaking, but act if you want to discuss different proposals, but we won’t accept any agreement [which] goes against the single market [or] the Good Friday agreement.
He mocked what was said in London about Johnson’s Brexit strategy, saying that he had “read in the papers a few days ago that it goes from big progress to [Incredible] Hulk to David Cameron proposing a second Brexit”.
Bettel suggested that, if there were a no-deal Brexit, it would take years for the two sides to reach a subsequent agreement on trade.
He said he was not confident that Johnson would be able to get any deal through the House of Commons.
Bettel said any Brexit deal had to protect the EU single market and the Good Friday agreement.
He said the UK alone was to blame for the Brexit crisis. He and other EU leaders would not take responsibility, he said:
Some people would love to give the blame to another. Not being responsible for the situation.
One party, the Conservative party, decided to organise that referendum ...
Now people try to blame the others because we cannot find an agreement.
We did not decide to organise Brexit. It was a unilateral decision of the UK government. We have to accept the result.
But it is not now in a unilateral way that the UK government will decide its next relations with the EU.
We sit around the table. We have a withdrawal agreement. And this withdrawal agreement has been accepted by the UK government. I just want to repeat and remind [you] that Theresa May accepted the withdrawal agreement. So don’t make it that the European Union will be the bad guy, not accepting decisions that the UK proposes ...
These are homemade problems.
He also said that neither he, as a European leader, nor the commission, nor the EU27 as a whole were responsible “for the mess we’re in”.
He said he would only back an extension of article 50 if it were to serve a purpose. He said further delay was not in the interests of EU citizens. He said:
Imagine you are a European citizen in London and you don’t know how your future looks like. Imagine you are a UK citizen living in Europe. You don’t know if tomorrow you will need a special agreement to be able to stay in the country, to be able to send your children to school. People want clarification, and as soon as possible.
So to speak about new delays, just to postpone things, is not in the interests of our citizens.
He said the leave campaign lied during the referendum.
I just remember that, before Brexit, people said to some voters that they will get money back from social insurance, that Brexit will be done in 24 hours and everything will be good. And there were a lot of things where before the referendum no one was able to say: ‘Sorry, this is a lie.’
Bettel did not point out that Johnson led the leave campaign. But he did say there should have been a proper information campaign in the UK at the time of the referendum, so people had the facts.
Bettel expressed disapproval at the hints from Number 10 that Johnson could if necessary break the law to ensure Brexit happens. When asked about that, Bettel just said:
This would not happen in Luxembourg.
Number 10 says the government will obey the law. But Johnson also says he would refuse to request an article 50 extension in any circumstances, even though the Benn act would make that a legal obligation, and Downing Street has not explained how these two apparently contradictory positions might be reconciled.
These are from the New York Times’ Matina Stevis-Gridneff.
A Luxembourg govt official tells me there was no room big enough to transfer the presser indoors. When UK team was told, they suggested selecting a few journos & moving indoors. Lux team said that would be unfair to the rest. Lectern wasn’t removed bc it was wired up. https://t.co/6f37Eoyb8Y
Lux govt official rejects idea that this was a deliberate attempt to embarrass Mr Johnson. Says this was not their intention but what’s fair is fair & they didn’t want to choose journos and leave others out. Says concern was raised this afternoon after loud protests began.
The Press Association has filed some quotes from what Boris Johnson said when he spoke to journalists in private, after the Xavier Bettel press conference. Here are the key points.
Johnson claimed that “a lot of work” had been done on possible alternatives to the backstop. That work would now accelerate, he said:
Over the last couple of weeks there’s been a lot of work, papers have been shared but we are now in the stage where we have to start really accelerating the work. That was the agreement today.
He said he still thought there was “a good chance” of the UK and the EU agreeing a Brexit deal. He said:
Yes, we’ve got a good chance of a deal. Yes, I can see the shape of it. Everybody could see roughly what could be done.
But it will require movement. And it will require the system in which the EU can control the UK after we leave - the so-called backstop - to go from that treaty. And that needs to happen. That’s a big change that we need to get done. But if we can get that done, as I’ve said before, then we’re at the races.
He said there was “just the right amount of time” available to do a deal.
I think we’ve got actually just the right amount of time to do a deal between now and October 17-18. But if we can’t do it by then we will make sure we can come out on October 31 - deal or no deal.
He implied that a no-deal Brexit could go ahead on 31 October - even though parliament has passed a law intended to stop that happening. (See above.)
He rejected claims that the UK attempt to renegotiate Brexit was a shame. When this was put to him some EU leaders thought he wanted a no-deal Brexit, he replied:
I don’t know who you’ve been talking to but that’s not what our interlocutors at EU heads of government level think at all. They know that we’re all working very hard to get a deal.
This is a difficult moment because clearly we’re very, very keen to do it but I don’t want people to think it’s necessarily in the bag.
It isn’t necessarily in the bag, there will be hard work to be done.
He said that he had pulled out of the joint press conference with Bettel because of the noise. Asked what happened, he said:
I don’t think it would’ve been fair to the prime minister of Luxembourg.
I think there was clearly going to be a lot of noise.
And I think our points might’ve been drowned out.
From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg
Source says No 10 asked for press conference inside so that the two leaders could be heard over the small but very noisy protest, but request was rejected and insisted on having it outside with the 2 podiums
I’ve added a correction to an earlier post because it wrongly said Luxembourg was the smallest country in the EU. In fact Malta is smaller, both geographically and in terms of population. (See 3.31pm.)
Boris Johnson has recorded a clip for broadcasters. Sky News is playing it now.
He says he thinks there is still time for a deal to be done.
He says he thinks the UK and the EU have got “just the right amount of time” to get a deal done by the end of October.
If that is not possible, the UK will leave by 31 October.
Johnson says UK and EU have “just the right amount of time” to get a deal done by the end of October.
That was extraordinary. Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, has just been humiliated by the leader of almost the smallest country in the European Union.
We were expecting a joint, open-air press conference but, with a large crowd of anti-Brexit campaigners threatening to drown out Johnson, it was announced that the British PM was not going to take part (presumably because of the demonstration, although that has not officially been confirmed yet). Normally in these circumstances the polite thing to do is to rearrange. But instead Xavier Bettel, the prime minister of Luxembourg, went ahead anyway, effectively “empty chairing” his guest. At one point he even gestured at the space where Johnson was supposed to be.
Then Bettel just let rip. People often wonder what EU leaders say or think about Johnson in private. Well, now we know. The leave campaign was a pack of lies, Johnson’s talk of progress in the Brexit negotiations is unfounded, the UK still has not come up with any ideas about an alternative to the backstop. On and on he went, with particular emphasis on the point that the UK, not the EU, was to blame for the crisis. It was a “nightmare” for EU citizens, said Bettel. At several points he was loudly applauded by the protesters, because they felt he was articulating their anger.
Yesterday, Johnson depicted himself as the Incredible Hulk. As the Telegraph’s Michael Deacon suggests, the reality could not be more different.
My favourite episode of The Incredible Hulk is the one where a small group of people shouted too loudly so he ran away
UPDATE: I’ve corrected the post above because originally it said Luxembourg was the smallest country in the EU. In fact Malta is smaller, both geographically and in terms of population.