Yahoo News Labour calls Brexit negotiations an 'embarrassment' as government denies parts of the UK will get different deals
Labour has dubbed the government’s Brexit policy an “embarrassment” after Theresa May backed out of talks in Brussels following the row over the Irish border.
Arlene Foster, the DUP’s leader, put in an urgent call to the Prime Minister while she was lunching with Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, to express her disapproval.
Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit told the House of Commons that “there was high expectations” an agreement would be struck, but “by teatime [Monday], we had a 49-second press conference saying the deal was off.”
The EU want assurances on how the Irish border will be managed and has named it as one of three key issues, along with citizens’ rights and the much-discussed divorce bill, that must be decided before negotiations can begin.
The Republic is insistent that there is no return to a hard border for goods between the two countries, which would mean Northern Ireland accepts EU rules and regulations after Brexit.
The promise of “continued regulatory alignment” between Northern Ireland and the Republic, has created confusion as to whether or not some areas of the UK could stay within the single market.
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Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said there is “no good reason” why Scotland should not get a similar Brexit deal to Northern Ireland.
However, the Brexit Secretary said that no part of the UK will be treated differently in the Brexit talks, adding that individual nations could not have separate arrangements.
David Davis said that while the “integrity” of the single market and customs union must be respected after Brexit, it was “equally clear we must respect the integrity of the United Kingdom”.
Referring to the falling out with the DUP, Starmer joked: “It’s one thing to go to Brussels and fall out with those on the other side of the negotiating table, it’s another thing to fall out with those supposedly on your own side.”
He said that the price of the government’s Brexit agreement could be opening up “bitter divides in Ireland”.
“The DUP tail is wagging the Tory dog,” he said, in a reference to the deal struck between the parties to help prop up the Conservative government.
The Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar was said: “The responsibility of any prime minister is to ensure that they can follow through on agreements that they make and we are surprised and disappointed that they haven’t been able to,” he said.
Backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg warned that “regulatory divergence” from the EU after Brexit was a “red line”.
