May hiding Brexit views ‘behind barricade of clichés’ – Hogan

British prime minister Theresa May is hiding her views on Brexit "behind a barricade of clichés", EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development Phil Hogan has said.

He also criticised the UK's foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, who favours a "hard Brexit", as always appearing "to believe passionately in whatever he's saying at any given time".

Mr Hogan’s appraisal of the British leadership was given during a speech to the Association of European Journalists in Dublin on Friday in which he sought to drive home the need for Irish preparation in the build-up to Britain’s European departure.

He said it remained "painfully obvious" there was no British direction on Brexit and that Whitehall was continuing to "spew out mixed messages".

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As regards the process, he continued, once the UK triggers article 50, setting in motion a chain of events culminating in divorce, the deal-making focus will switch to Brussels.

"I'm not convinced that Ireland is as yet allocating the necessary resources to Brussels to deal with this mammoth challenge," Mr Hogan said.

Unique exposure

"We need to ensure that we have the relationships established and maintained to facilitate a clear and direct understanding of Ireland's unique exposure to Brexit at the Council, Commission, and also the European Parliament, which has a vote on any deal."

He also appealed for Northern Ireland and the Peace Process not to be allowed become a bargaining chip in negotiations, claiming the issue had been getting little attention from London.

On a broader theme, Mr Hogan spoke of global affairs – referring at one point to the "unthinkable" election of "Doonbeg dream team" Donald Trump and Mike Pence – and the need for a greater political understanding to stunt the growth of right-wing populism.

“The reality is that sometimes indisputable good news stories are not on our citizens’ radar, either through our own failure to communicate them but often through the failure of national politicians and media to talk about these issues.” he said.

“And I think that needs to change, if we are to fight back against the dark forces gathering on the political extremes. In my view, journalism needs to strike a balance between reporting the news and relentless personal analysis.”