“It’s INSULTING!” Furious Brexiteer demands EU and Ireland stop holding UK to RANSOM
Posted By: June 10, 2018
BRITAIN must not be “held to ransom” by Ireland nor used by the European Union to “undermine” the UK’s Brexit negotiating position, Brexiteer Sir Gerald Howarth has said.
Charlotte Davis. Sunday Expres. UK. Sat, Jun 9, 2018
The former Minister for International Security Strategy and staunch Brexit-supporter said it is “insulting” that Britain has been “held to ransom” over the Irish border issue.
Speaking on LBC Sir Gerald said: “This idea that the whole thing can be held up by some argument about the Irish border – it’s nothing to do with the United Kingdom. We don’t want a fixed border. There is a border already.”
The former Tory MP said if Brexit happens to “upset” the Irish then that is “tough.”
He continued his furious rant and added: “I do not believe that we should be held to ransom by the Irish.
“And the EU is using the Irish issue nakedly to undermine Britain’s position. Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, was spot on when he said that this Irish issue is a question of the tail wagging the dog.
“I personally believe it is insulting. It’s your problem Ireland if you don’t want a fixed border – fine.
“But the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union and if you want to make some arrangements – fine.
“But you are not going to hold the sixth largest economy in the world, a permanent member of the security council of the United Nations, to ransom.”
In a “leaked recording” published on Buzzfeed, Mr. Johnson addressed the Irish border issue and said: “It’s so small, and there are so few firms that actually use that border regularly, it’s just beyond belief that we’re allowing the tail to wag the dog in this way.
“We’re allowing the whole of our agenda to be dictated by this folly.”
The EU rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed “backstop” customs system for Northern Ireland, which could see Britain remain in a “temporary customs arrangement” after the Brexit transition if a resolution is not found on the Irish border issue.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier demanded Britain “respect its own red lines” arguing that the proposed backstop would only be feasible for Northern Ireland and not the whole of the UK.
He warned Mrs. May: “Let me be very clear. Our backstop cannot be extended to the whole of the United Kingdom.
“It has been designed for the specific situation of Northern Ireland. The temporary backstop is not in line with what we want.”
The backstop draft sets out a blueprint for a temporary customs partnership if the technology for a “frictionless border” is not prepared in time for the end of the Brexit transition period in December 2020.
Mrs. May has committed to avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland to prevent undermining the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to the island after decades of violence.
