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| Brexit talks on knife-edge as DUP voices fears for union | Brexit talks on knife-edge as DUP voices fears for union |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Boris Johnson’s prospects of securing a new Brexit deal are hanging in the balance, with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party threatening to block any agreement that weakens the union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. | Boris Johnson’s prospects of securing a new Brexit deal are hanging in the balance, with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party threatening to block any agreement that weakens the union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. |
| In a sign that the party is now the key to the deal, photographers spotted DUP representatives going in the back door to Downing Street for a third round of talks in three days. | In a sign that the party is now the key to the deal, photographers spotted DUP representatives going in the back door to Downing Street for a third round of talks in three days. |
| Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s Brexit spokesman, expressed anger that the party’s leader, Arlene Foster, discussed a cash payment for Northern Ireland with Johnson on Tuesday night to help secure her support for the Brexit deal. | Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s Brexit spokesman, expressed anger that the party’s leader, Arlene Foster, discussed a cash payment for Northern Ireland with Johnson on Tuesday night to help secure her support for the Brexit deal. |
| “This is an issue of whether or not the union is weakened. If the union is weakened no amount of money will get us to accept the deal,” Wilson told Bloomberg. | “This is an issue of whether or not the union is weakened. If the union is weakened no amount of money will get us to accept the deal,” Wilson told Bloomberg. |
| Another party spokesman said reports it was looking for “billions not millions” as a sweetener in a new post-Brexit pact were false. “This is categorically untrue and nonsense,” said a spokesman. | Another party spokesman said reports it was looking for “billions not millions” as a sweetener in a new post-Brexit pact were false. “This is categorically untrue and nonsense,” said a spokesman. |
| The Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay however indicated there would be a package of investment for Northern Ireland. He told the Brexit select committee the government has already proposed a new deal for Northern Ireland as part of the PM’s desire to “level up” those parts of the UK that are less prosperous. | |
| Brexit talks are on a knife-edge with the legal text of a deal thrashed out in Brussels on Tuesday being finalised. | Brexit talks are on a knife-edge with the legal text of a deal thrashed out in Brussels on Tuesday being finalised. |
| Inside the EU, both Ireland and Northern Ireland are part of the single market and customs union so share the same regulations and standards, allowing a soft or invisible border between the two. | Inside the EU, both Ireland and Northern Ireland are part of the single market and customs union so share the same regulations and standards, allowing a soft or invisible border between the two. |
| Britain’s exit from the EU – taking Northern Ireland with it – risks a return to a hard or policed border. The only way to avoid this post-Brexit is for regulations on both sides to remain more or less the same in key areas including food, animal welfare, medicines and product safety. | Britain’s exit from the EU – taking Northern Ireland with it – risks a return to a hard or policed border. The only way to avoid this post-Brexit is for regulations on both sides to remain more or less the same in key areas including food, animal welfare, medicines and product safety. |
| The 'backstop' in Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement was intended to address this - stating that if no future trade agreement could be reached between the EU and the UK, then rules and regulations would stay as they are. This has been rejected by Brexit supporters as a 'trap' to keep the UK in the EU's customs union, which would prevent the UK striking its own independent trade deals. | The 'backstop' in Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement was intended to address this - stating that if no future trade agreement could be reached between the EU and the UK, then rules and regulations would stay as they are. This has been rejected by Brexit supporters as a 'trap' to keep the UK in the EU's customs union, which would prevent the UK striking its own independent trade deals. |
| There are an estimated 72m road vehicle crossings a year between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and about 14% of those crossings are consignments of goods, some of which may cross the border several times before they reach a consumer. Brexit supporters say this can be managed by doing checks on goods away from the border, but critics say it will be difficult to police this without any physical infrastructure like border posts or cameras, which could raise tensions in the divided communities of Ireland. | There are an estimated 72m road vehicle crossings a year between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and about 14% of those crossings are consignments of goods, some of which may cross the border several times before they reach a consumer. Brexit supporters say this can be managed by doing checks on goods away from the border, but critics say it will be difficult to police this without any physical infrastructure like border posts or cameras, which could raise tensions in the divided communities of Ireland. |
| Interactive: A typical hour in the life of the Irish border | Interactive: A typical hour in the life of the Irish border |
| The Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, spoke to Boris Johnson phone on Wednesday morning. He remains cautiously optimistic but warned issues remained to potentially block an agreement. | The Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, spoke to Boris Johnson phone on Wednesday morning. He remains cautiously optimistic but warned issues remained to potentially block an agreement. |
| He told Sky News: “I am convinced all parties are serious about getting and agreement this week or by the end of the month. There is a pathway to a possible deal, but there are many issues that still need to be fully resolved, particularly around consent and also some issues around customs and VAT. | He told Sky News: “I am convinced all parties are serious about getting and agreement this week or by the end of the month. There is a pathway to a possible deal, but there are many issues that still need to be fully resolved, particularly around consent and also some issues around customs and VAT. |
| “I spoke to the prime minister this morning and I’ve been in contact with the [European] commission. I do think we are making progress but there are issues to be resolved and hopefully that can be done today,” he said. | “I spoke to the prime minister this morning and I’ve been in contact with the [European] commission. I do think we are making progress but there are issues to be resolved and hopefully that can be done today,” he said. |
| Any threat to collapse a deal will have echoes of December 2017, when the DUP torpedoed the signing off of the first phase of Brexit negotiations just as May was sitting down to lunch with the European commission president, Jean Claude-Juncker. | Any threat to collapse a deal will have echoes of December 2017, when the DUP torpedoed the signing off of the first phase of Brexit negotiations just as May was sitting down to lunch with the European commission president, Jean Claude-Juncker. |
| Johnson has consulted the party throughout his Brexit talks and officials held three hours of talks over the past two days with Downing Street officials. | Johnson has consulted the party throughout his Brexit talks and officials held three hours of talks over the past two days with Downing Street officials. |
| Foster and her deputy, Nigel Dodds, had a second 90-minute meeting in Downing Street on Tuesday night but remained tight-lipped on exit. | Foster and her deputy, Nigel Dodds, had a second 90-minute meeting in Downing Street on Tuesday night but remained tight-lipped on exit. |
| Born Arlene Isabel Kelly in Enniskillen in 1970, Arlene Foster has been leader of the Democratic Unionist Party since December 2015. | Born Arlene Isabel Kelly in Enniskillen in 1970, Arlene Foster has been leader of the Democratic Unionist Party since December 2015. |
| She was eight years old when her father, a farmer and part-time police officer, was shot outside the family home. “My father came in on all fours crawling, with blood coming from his head,” she once told the Belfast Telegraph. He survived. A decade later the IRA blew up her school bus in an attempt to kill the driver, a part-time soldier. The girl seated beside Foster was seriously injured. | She was eight years old when her father, a farmer and part-time police officer, was shot outside the family home. “My father came in on all fours crawling, with blood coming from his head,” she once told the Belfast Telegraph. He survived. A decade later the IRA blew up her school bus in an attempt to kill the driver, a part-time soldier. The girl seated beside Foster was seriously injured. |
| Foster became a solicitor and joined the Ulster Unionist party (UUP) but opposed the leadership’s endorsement of the 1998 Good Friday agreement, deeming it soft on the IRA. In 2004, an elected assembly member, she defected to the harder-line DUP. | Foster became a solicitor and joined the Ulster Unionist party (UUP) but opposed the leadership’s endorsement of the 1998 Good Friday agreement, deeming it soft on the IRA. In 2004, an elected assembly member, she defected to the harder-line DUP. |
| When Ian Paisley led the party into government with Sinn Féin in 2007 Foster, married with three children, swiftly rose through the ranks, serving as minister for the environment, then enterprise, then finance before taking over from Peter Robinson as party leader and first minister in 2015. | When Ian Paisley led the party into government with Sinn Féin in 2007 Foster, married with three children, swiftly rose through the ranks, serving as minister for the environment, then enterprise, then finance before taking over from Peter Robinson as party leader and first minister in 2015. |
| Young, female, Church of Ireland rather than Free Presbyterian, a fan of EastEnders and Strictly Come Dancing, by DUP standards Foster seemed modern and cuddly. Friends say she is socially pragmatic and no homophobe, but Foster has played to her party’s base by opposing marriage equality and abortion liberalisation. | Young, female, Church of Ireland rather than Free Presbyterian, a fan of EastEnders and Strictly Come Dancing, by DUP standards Foster seemed modern and cuddly. Friends say she is socially pragmatic and no homophobe, but Foster has played to her party’s base by opposing marriage equality and abortion liberalisation. |
| Under Foster’s watch, a botched renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme allowed farmers and DUP cronies to claim subsidies for heating empty barns, an arcane-sounding scandal that span out of control and spawned a public inquiry that exposed deep dysfunction in Stormont. | Under Foster’s watch, a botched renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme allowed farmers and DUP cronies to claim subsidies for heating empty barns, an arcane-sounding scandal that span out of control and spawned a public inquiry that exposed deep dysfunction in Stormont. |
| She has become a critical figure in the resolution of Brexit, as since 2017 the Conservative government in Westminster has been relying on the votes of the DUP to give it a working majority. | She has become a critical figure in the resolution of Brexit, as since 2017 the Conservative government in Westminster has been relying on the votes of the DUP to give it a working majority. |
| Rory Carroll | Rory Carroll |
| A spokesman indicated, however, they were not going to back what was on the table with “further work” needed in Brussels. | A spokesman indicated, however, they were not going to back what was on the table with “further work” needed in Brussels. |
| “We respect the fact negotiations are ongoing therefore cannot give a detailed commentary but it would be fair to indicate gaps remain and further work is needed.” | “We respect the fact negotiations are ongoing therefore cannot give a detailed commentary but it would be fair to indicate gaps remain and further work is needed.” |
| Talks in Brussels between UK negotiators led by David Frost and the EU’s article 50 taskforce broke up at 1.30am on Tuesday, breaching the midnight deadline set by Barnier earlier in the day. | Talks in Brussels between UK negotiators led by David Frost and the EU’s article 50 taskforce broke up at 1.30am on Tuesday, breaching the midnight deadline set by Barnier earlier in the day. |
| Talks resumed on Wednesday morning, fuelling speculation that political agreement had been reached on the main points and the detailed legally operable text remains to be agreed. | Talks resumed on Wednesday morning, fuelling speculation that political agreement had been reached on the main points and the detailed legally operable text remains to be agreed. |
| It is understood Ireland has not yet received the final text, indicating work on the text is continuing into the morning. | It is understood Ireland has not yet received the final text, indicating work on the text is continuing into the morning. |
| Boris Johnson is expected to brief his cabinet at 2.30pm with a flurry of work across the Conservative party to win the support of Eurosceptics as well as the DUP. | Boris Johnson is expected to brief his cabinet at 2.30pm with a flurry of work across the Conservative party to win the support of Eurosceptics as well as the DUP. |
| Hardline eurosceptics in the European Research Group including veteran Bill Cash and Steve Baker have indicated they are prepared to back the deal as has the group’s former chairman, Jacob Rees-Mogg. | Hardline eurosceptics in the European Research Group including veteran Bill Cash and Steve Baker have indicated they are prepared to back the deal as has the group’s former chairman, Jacob Rees-Mogg. |
| However, there appears to be a split in the group, with the former Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson declaring he could not back a deal if it involved a return to May’s customs partnership for Northern Ireland. | However, there appears to be a split in the group, with the former Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson declaring he could not back a deal if it involved a return to May’s customs partnership for Northern Ireland. |
| This would involve the region remaining legally part of the UK customs arrangements but in practice following those of the EU, thus avoiding the need for checks on the Irish border. | This would involve the region remaining legally part of the UK customs arrangements but in practice following those of the EU, thus avoiding the need for checks on the Irish border. |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| Boris Johnson | Boris Johnson |
| Democratic Unionist party (DUP) | Democratic Unionist party (DUP) |
| Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland |
| Ireland | Ireland |
| European Union | European Union |
| Europe | Europe |
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