Northern Ireland

Brexit should be 'frozen' to negotiate backstop solution

Willie McCarter believes brexit should be delayed for three years.
Willie McCarter believes brexit should be delayed for three years. Willie McCarter believes brexit should be delayed for three years.

A former head of the International Fund for Ireland has called for the UK’s exit from the EU to be "frozen" for three years to negotiate a long-term exit agreement which would solve the backstop problem.

Willie McCarter said during this time the UK should be allowed to negotiate free trade deals with other countries while remaining a full member of the EU.

Mr McCarter is also the former chief executive of Fruit of the Loom, one of Ireland’s most successful clothing companies. By delaying the UK’s exit from the EU, the businessman suggested "the most unstable political and economic difficulty" since the Second World War could be avoided. If a long-term alternative to the backstop could be found, opposition to Prime Minister, Theresa May's exit deal could also be silenced.

"Both parties (the UK and EU) have said that the long-term agreement will solve the Irish border problem and hopefully at the end of three years a final agreement will contain a solution to the border problem," he said.

Q&A - What is the backstop

Mr McCarter said any new UK free trade deals would not come into effect until after the UK left the EU in three years time.

If long-term negotiations were successful in finding a solution to the Irish border question, Mr McCarter said current arrangements could be "unfrozen" and the UK could leave the EU on agreed terms. If they weren’t successful, the UK could trigger Article 50 again and current arrangements could be enacted. The UK would not have to pay the £39 billion exit payment until it left the EU.

"If something like the above could be agreed between the UK and the EU, hopefully the negotiation on the long-term agreement will solve the Irish border problem and the difficulties with the backstop and will lead to a much more stable political and economic future outlook than exists at present," Mr McCarter said.