Boris Johnson will not solve the Irish border in 30 days, so MPs must brace themselves to block a no-deal Brexit

Once it has become clear that Mr Johnson’s alternative arrangements are based in an alternative reality, they must be ready to act decisively

Johnson and Macron meet at the Elysee Palace to discuss the Irish backstop (PA)

The Independent stands with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president. They bear Boris Johnson no personal ill will, and are willing to look at what proposals for the Irish border he can come up with in 30 days – although Ms Merkel now says she was not setting a “deadline” when she mentioned that period.

Despite what Mr Macron said was his own reputation as “the tough guy of the group”, he was friendly towards Mr Johnson and even suggested that the withdrawal agreement could be “amended” if a way forward could be found.

But we share Ms Merkel and Mr Macron’s scepticism that such a magic solution is possible. The withdrawal agreement contained what the French president called an “indispensable guarantee” of an open border. If other arrangements cannot be negotiated in the long-term trade deal between the UK and the EU, then the “backstop” plan for customs and standards alignment across the border will come into force.

If Mr Johnson can find another way to guarantee an open border, his continental friends would love to hear it.

Ms Merkel said on Wednesday: “It was said we will probably find a solution in two years. But we could also find one in the next 30 days, why not?” Mr Johnson seized on this as evidence of her willingness to do a deal, but a better reading might have been: “What makes you think you can do in 30 days what you have been unable to do in two years?”

So we are still heading towards leaving the EU without an agreement at the end of October. All Mr Johnson’s trip to Berlin and Paris has achieved has been to make it harder for the MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit to act when parliament reconvenes next month.

For example, Nick Boles, the former Conservative MP, said yesterday he “will not support a vote of no confidence while the Johnson government continues to pursue a Brexit deal that might deliver an orderly exit”.

That means the crisis in October will be more intense. Once it has become clear, in what is now 28 days’ time, that Mr Johnson’s alternative arrangements are based in an alternative reality, MPs must be ready to act decisively.

In light of this, the meeting convened by Jeremy Corbyn of the leaders of opposition parties next Tuesday is significant. We would urge those attending to take Mr Boles’s advice and focus in the first instance on trying to legislate from the back benches to seek an extension of EU membership if no deal has been agreed by 31 October.

If they succeed, Mr Johnson may try to force a general election, and Mr Boles is right to ask Mr Corbyn to rule out voting for an election until after the Article 50 deadline is extended. But if the legislative route fails, MPs who want to stop a no-deal Brexit must unite behind a single candidate as a caretaker prime minister to replace Mr Johnson – and Mr Corbyn is not the best person for that role.

Mr Corbyn needs to show leadership by demonstrating that when he says he will do “anything necessary” to avoid no-deal Brexit, he means it.