Northern Ireland

No guarantee of Brexit extension if Westminster fails to back Boris Johnson's deal

Leo Varadkar said the EU cannot guarantee of further Brexit delay if MPs fail to back the revised withdrawal agreement. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Leo Varadkar said the EU cannot guarantee of further Brexit delay if MPs fail to back the revised withdrawal agreement. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire Leo Varadkar said the EU cannot guarantee of further Brexit delay if MPs fail to back the revised withdrawal agreement. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire

THE taoiseach has said the EU cannot guarantee a further Brexit delay if MPs fail to back the revised withdrawal agreement today.

With the DUP working to scupper ratification of Boris Johnson's deal at Westminster, Leo Varadkar said Dublin would be open to extending Article 50 but warned that a no-deal was still a possibility.

The Fine Gael leader also sparked a cross-border war of words with the DUP after insisting the withdrawal agreement would not change the constitutional position of Northern Ireland.

He said the Good Friday Agreement provided guarantees for unionists and "differences between Great Britain and Northern Ireland" would not alter the status quo.

"It's been the case for 100 years now that Northern Ireland has its own legal system, has a different education system, has lots of different laws, lots of different rules form the rest of the UK, and that's a reflection of devolution and autonomy, and doesn't change the constitutional position of Northern Ireland," he said.

"So if this agreement is ratified, and if it is fully implemented, the Queen will still be the Queen, the pound will still be the pound, people will still post letters in Royal Mail red letterboxes."

But his remarks drew an angry response from DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds.

"If Leo Varadkar thinks unionism is just about red post boxes then he is either very ill-informed or else just wishes to be offensive," the North Belfast MP said.

"Of course we will still use sterling and Her Majesty the Queen will be our head of state, but a new trade barrier will have been erected between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom without the consent of anyone who lives here."

Mr Dodds said trade borders ran "to the core of any nation" and customs duties were collected at the border.

"Northern Ireland is an integral part of the United Kingdom, therefore there should be unfettered trade within the boundaries of the United Kingdom," he said.

"More bureaucracy for trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will potentially increase costs for consumers and ultimately reduce choice for consumers also."

As MPs prepared to vote on the British prime minister's deal at a special Westminster sitting, Mr Varadkar said a further delay in Brexit could not be taken for granted.

He said that while the Republic would likely agree to an extension for Britain, preparations for a "Plan B" no-deal were in place.

"Bear in mind this has to be ratified by both the House of Commons and European Parliament, we can be pretty confident it will be ratified in the European Parliament - the House of Commons, we'll see over the next couple of days," the toaiseach said.

"If the House of Commons does vote yes, that will put us in a position to stand down our no-deal preparations, but we won't stop them entirely as there is always an outside chance something could go wrong, so we could stand them down but not abandon them."

Asked if Thursday's deal was the last offer from the EU, Mr Varadkar said it was.

"I cannot see the European Union coming back again for another set of negotiations, I really can't – I think the EU has been really responsible over the past couple of years," he said.

"We deeply regret the decision of the UK to leave. We've never tried to hold the UK in the EU, as some people have suggested in the past."

He said he would not attempt to predict the outcome of today's Westminster vote, saying it was "in the hands now of MPs".

"The position that we have agreed as the European Council is that, as things stand, there is no request from the UK for an extension," he said.

"If for some reason a request came, then Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, would consult individually with all the European leaders to see if we would agree to such a request."

Mr Varadkar said that he had hoped the DUP would have changed its mind on the deal in the days before the EU summit, but said although the party had rejected Mr Johnson's proposals, he was conscious that they do not speak for everyone in the north.