DUP and SF leaders in Dublin and London as border issue cloud hangs over potential Brexit deal
Arlene Foster to meet Taoiseach while Michelle O'Neill and
DUP leader Arlene Foster is in Dublin for talks with Leo Varadkar while Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill and Mary Lou McDonald are set to meet Theresa May in London – after a major setback in securing a potential Brexit deal.
It follows yesterday’s hastily arranged meeting between Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and European Union negotiator Michel Barnier failed to produce a breakthrough, leaving the process on a knife-edge ahead of a crunch summit on Wednesday.
The impasse over measures to prevent a hard border with Ireland has thrown the timetable for reaching a Brexit deal into doubt.
Following the meeting in Brussels, Mr Barnier said that “despite intense efforts'' there had been a failure to reach agreement on one of the trickiest aspects of the negotiations.
The surprise announcement of the meeting fuelled rumours a deal was set to be done ahead of this week's summit of EU leaders.
But after talks which lasted a little over an hour, it was clear that major obstacles remained including the so-called backstop measure to prevent a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit.
The UK Government said there were still “unresolved issues'' relating to the backstop but it remained committed to making progress at the European Council meeting.
But with Mrs May under siege from Tory Eurosceptics and her DUP parliamentary allies, the Government also has a reason to appear to be taking a tough line.
The Prime Minister's room for manoeuvre is severely restricted, with opposition to both the EU's proposed backstop and concerns about her own alternative.
The EU version, which would see just Northern Ireland remain aligned with Brussels' rules, has been called unacceptable by Mrs May and is loathed by the DUP.
Mrs May's counter-proposal for a “temporary customs arrangement'' for the whole UK is viewed suspiciously by Brexiteers who fear it becoming an indefinite position which would prevent free trade deals with countries around the world.
A special EU summit pencilled in for November to sign off a Brexit agreement could instead end up being used as an emergency meeting to discuss no-deal'' plans.
The febrile atmosphere in the Tory ranks has seen former Brexit secretary David Davis emerge as a potential successor to Mrs May.
Tory MP Nadine Dorries publicly suggested he could be the leader to deliver the kind of Brexit sought by Eurosceptics.
The Prime Minister's critics believe the threshold of 48 Tory MPs calling for a no-confidence vote could be passed by Wednesday, depending on events in Brussels.
Allies of Mr Davis said he has been contacted by several Tory MPs urging him to run for the leadership and he is understood to be prepared to take part in a contest.
Ms Dorries backed Mr Davis for the top job, saying: Getting May out and him becoming an interim leader may be the only way to deliver Brexit and FTA (a free-trade agreement)."