Opinion

No Brexit breakthrough for Boris Johnson as concerns grow

Boris Johnson's whirlwind visits to Berlin and Paris did not produce any breakthrough although the British government could hardly have expected the major European leaders to agree that the Irish backstop should be abandoned.

While he received a fairly cordial reception from both Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, it was made plain to the prime minister that it was his responsibility to come up with an alternative arrangement that would prevent a hard border.

Mrs Merkel appeared to suggest a 30-day period for Mr Johnson to come up with a solution - a time frame that was seized upon by the prime minister - although she later clarified that it was 'an allegory for being able to do it in a short period of time' rather than a strict deadline.

Mr Macron warned that any deal at the end of that period would not be very different from the existing withdrawal agreement.

The French president was also firm on the need for the backstop, saying it provided 'genuine, indispensable guarantees' to preserve stability in Ireland and the integrity of the single market.

The leaders of the north's pro-Remain parties - Sinn Féin, Alliance, SDLP and Greens - have jointly written to European Council president Donald Tusk confirming support for the backstop and urging the EU to 'defend all that we have achieved' in the weeks ahead.

Certainly, there is considerable alarm at the prospect of a no-deal Brexit and its implications for jobs, supplies of food, fuel and medicine and for the wider economy.

There is also a significant security concern which was expressed by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris yesterday.

He warned that sixty years of policing cooperation with the UK will 'fall away' after a no-deal, pointing out that if there is a hard Brexit many of the present EU criminal justice treaties will cease to apply.

This is an issue that needs to be taken seriously by those determined to push for a no-deal.

Such a move would indeed be a step into the unknown, no matter how much ministers try to downplay the dire predictions contained in the leaked Operation Yellowhammer document.

Mr Johnson has been in office for a month - and a leading Leave campaigner for three years - but has yet to produce a concrete, detailed and workable proposal for an orderly withdrawal that would be acceptable to the EU and Westminster.