Hunt and Johnson: the backstop is dead and can't be in any EU deal

Tory leadership rivals say they would prefer no-deal Brexit to proposed Irish border solution

Rowena Mason and Jessica Elgot
Mon 15 Jul 2019 21.21 BST Last modified on Mon 15 Jul 2019 21.48 BST

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have declared the Northern Ireland backstop “dead” and promised to throw it out of any deal they negotiate with the EU, in comments that significantly harden their Brexit positions.

The Tory leadership rivals both ruled out trying to tweak the backstop, which critics said could trap the UK indefinitely in a customs union with the EU.

They said it would not feature in any deal with the EU, saying it was no good to have a time limit on it or a way of the UK exiting it unilaterally – even though Eurosceptics had previously indicated they could vote for such compromises.

Pressed in a Sun and Talk Radio debate on whether he would seek a time limit to the backstop, Johnson said: “The answer is no. The problem is really fundamental. It needs to come out.”

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