Ireland will 'never accept' deal allowing UK to end backstop alone, minister warns Dominic Raab

Brexit deal will be agreed within three weeks, Dominic Raab tells MPs

Ireland has made clear it will "never accept" a Brexit deal that allows the UK to unilaterally end a Northern Ireland "backstop".

On his Twitter account, Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, said a "time-limited backstop" to the Irish border that could be ended unilaterally by the UK "would never be agreed to" by the Republic of Ireland or the EU.

It comes following reports that Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, privately demanded the right to pull Britain out of the EU's proposed backstop after just three months.

On Monday, Theresa May also held a phone call with Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, who said he was open to a "review" mechanism for the backstop.

Ms May told her counterpart she was still committed to a full backstop, despite Mr Raab’s comments.

Speaking earlier in Dublin Mr Varadkar had said a time-limited backstop as suggested by Mr Raab would not be worth the paper it was written on.

“As a government we’re working very hard to get an agreement, ideally by the end of the year, but you know one thing we can’t countenance is any idea that there’d be a three-month limit on the backstop,” he told the Irish media.

See how the day in Westminster unfolded below

Key Points

• Johnson calls PM's proposed Brext deal an 'absolute stinker'
• Top lawyers call on May to give voters a final say on Brexit deal
• Banks 'contradicted his own evidence' over £8m Leave funding

[5 November 2018 12:38 · Ashley Cowburn]

[5 November 2018 12:55 · Ashley Cowburn]

Downing Street has also announced that Theresa May will be appointing a new sports minister later today - after Tracey Crouch resigned from the position last week in a row over highly-addictive fixed odd betting machines. 

[5 November 2018 13:14 · Ashley Cowburn]

Here is a readout from Theresa May's phone call with the Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar this morning:

"Both leaders emphasised their commitment to avoiding a hard border and the need for a legally operable backstop," an Irish readout of the phone call stated.

"The PM raised the possibility of a review mechanism for the backstop. The taoiseach indicated an openness to consider proposals for a review, provided that it was clear that the outcome of any such review could not involve a unilateral decision to end the backstop.

"He recalled the prior commitments made that the backstop must apply 'unless and until' alternative arrangements are agreed. They both expressed the hope that the negotiations could conclude in a satisfactory manner as soon as possible."  

[5 November 2018 13:30 · Ashley Cowburn]

[5 November 2018 13:50 · Ashley Cowburn]

[5 November 2018 14:19 · Ashley Cowburn]

[5 November 2018 15:11 · Ashley Cowburn]

[5 November 2018 15:39 · Ashley Cowburn]

[5 November 2018 15:55 · Ashley Cowburn]

Caroline Nokes, a home office minister, is now addressing the Commons. She thanks Yvettee Cooper, the chair of the home affairs select committee, for giving her the chance to clairfy her comments last week.

She says UK employers will not need to carry out additional checks on EU citizens in event of a no-deal Brexit, saying: "We will not be asking employees to differentiate, even if there is a no-deal."

This is the story on the confusion from last week.

[5 November 2018 16:47 · Ashley Cowburn]

Jon Thompson, the permanent secretary at HMRC, is now appearing at the public accounts committee in Westminster on the subject of "Brexit and the UK border".

Here's a report from last month on the UK borders in the event of a no-deal Brexit.