Theresa May tries to shift Brexit talks on to security amid EU anger over lack of progress

Ireland says Britain should have produced a border plan two years ago as May avoids addressing issue

Theresa May has told her 27 European counterparts to think of their citizens’ safety if Britain is locked out of EU policing and security databases after Brexit.

Speaking over dinner in Brussels the prime minister conceded that the “current legal framework” made Britain’s continued participation impossible and urged the leaders to rewrite their laws to accommodate the UK.

Her attempt to shift the conversation to security comes as EU leaders urge her to make progress on the Northern Ireland border, a question which continues to divide her cabinet.

Arriving at the summit on Thursday afternoon the prime minister insisted a full plan for the border would be drawn up next month after a special awayday meeting of her cabinet at Chequers.

Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar led the charge of EU leaders in criticising the British government’s preparedness, warning that a plan should have been finalised two years ago or better “before people voted”. Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said Ms May had to make a decision with her cabinet and that “the first, second, and third priority now is to solve the issue of the Irish border”.

But despite other leaders’ focus on the Irish issue, senior UK government officials familiar with the prime minister’s dinner speech suggested there was little content on the border.

Mr Varadkar told reporters on the doorstep of the European Council building: “I think it would have been helpful if they had had that white paper two years ago.

“You would have thought that before people voted to leave the European Union they would have an idea what the new relationship would look like but I appreciate that that hasn’t happened, and two years later it still hasn’t happened.”

He added that he looked forward to seeing the plan when it was produced, but suggested that Britain did not understand that is was not an equal partner with the EU.

“It needs to understand that we’re a union of 27 member states, 500 million people. We have laws and rules and principles and they can’t be changed for any one country, even a great country like Britain,” he said.

You would have thought that before people voted to leave the European Union they would have an idea what the new relationship would look like but I appreciate that that hasn’t happened, and two years later it still hasn’t happened

Leo Varadkar

“Any relationship that exists in the future between the EU and the UK isn’t going to be one of absolute equals: we’re 27 member states, the UK is one country, we’re 500 million people, the UK is 60 million. That basic fact has to be realised.”

The Irish prime minister said he would not accept a land border with the UK, but said to be “responsible” Ireland and other countries would have to make preparations at ports and airports for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

Addressing the chaos in Theresa May’s cabinet, Mr Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, told reporters in Brussels: “I do understand it’s difficult to come to agreements within her cabinet and the UK parliament, but she has to.

“I don’t want to talk in apocalyptic terms. What I want to say is that I believe that the first, second, and third priority now is to solve the issue of the Irish border. When that is solved then so many other issues will be easier to discuss.”

Over dinner Ms May said the UK wanted to continue to contribute to the security of the continent, telling the leaders: “Our ability to do so is being put at risk. The existing legal frameworks for third countries will not allow us to realise the ambitious future security partnership that I believe is in all our interest.

“Under our current position the UK would for example be able to share information through key databases and agencies, such as SIS2, ECRIS, and Prum that allow our law enforcement to protect all European citizens.

“We would no longer be able to share real-time alerts for wanted persons including serious criminals. We would be able to respond less swiftly to alerts for missing people from either side of the Channel and reunite them with our loved ones. Our collective ability to map terrorist networks and bring those responsible to justice would be reduced.

“That is not what I want and I do not want to believe it is what you want either. When you meet as 27 tomorrow I urge you to consider what is in the best interests of the safety of your citizens and mine and give your negotiator a mandate to achieve this crucial objective.”

Interpreting the prime minister’s words at dinner, a senior UK government official said: “Her message is that when you are considering the next steps of this you should consider the safety and security of your citizens as part of that.”

Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s chief negotiator, has previously said that though information sharing could continue in some form, the UK would not be able to access EU-only databases.

The EU leaders will briefly meet to discuss Brexit on Friday, a sideshow at a summit that has mostly focused on migration, trade, and eurozone reform. Leaked draft conclusions suggest they will probably criticise the UK for lack of progress on the Irish border.

The UK has flat-out rejected EU plans to give a special status to Northern Ireland that would effectively keep it in the customs union and single market, and says any deal must apply to the whole UK and be time limited. The EU says UK plans so far are not enough to prevent a hard border from happening.