Brexit

Countdown to Brexit:

Simon Coveney appears on BBC TV’s The Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain, July 21st, 2019. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/Reuters ‘We’re all in trouble’ if new PM tears up Brexit deal – Coveney

Tánaiste says it is like saying ‘give me what I want or I’m going to burn the house down’

Leadership candidate for Britain’s Conservative Party Boris Johnson: to head towards a no-deal, he will tout non-existent alternatives, say they mean the backstop guarantee is not needed and try to blame the EU – and Ireland – for a lurch towards a no-deal. Photograph: Simon Dawson Brexit compromise acceptable to all sides likely to prove elusive
Which Boris Johnson will we get in August – the bullish Brexiteer or the pragmatic centrist? Photograph: Reuters/Simon Dawson Pat Leahy: Varadkar must prepare to deal with either Boris

Boris Johnson: For a politician about to reach the high office – nobody appears to trust a word he says. Photograph: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg What sort of Boris can Ireland expect?
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn: he has failed to capitalise on the internal Tory knife-fight going on beside him. Photograph: O’Connor/PA Wire Tory right may deliver what it has always feared – a left-wing Armageddon
The imminent arrival of Boris Johnson in Downing Street – a prospect that would have been dismissed as madcap just a few years ago – is a measure of the malaise infecting British politics. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images The Irish Times view on Brexit: Bracing for Boris
British prime minister Theresa May: “It is more likely...that history will show that the backstop brought about the collapse of the May government, the succession of Boris Johnson, and perhaps a no-deal Brexit...” If Johnson becomes PM, he should thank Varadkar, says historian
Boris Johnson delivers a speech at the final Conservative Party leadership hustings, in London on Wednesday. Photograph: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg Boris Johnson has galvanised opposition to a no-deal Brexit
Sean O’Driscoll of iNua Hospitality: ‘I think tourism is one of the sectors in Ireland that is most match-fit in dealing with the Brexit challenge.’ Photograph: Keith Wiseman ‘You’re going to see a lot more tourists from the Asia-Pacific market’
Boris Johnson speaks at a Conservative Party leadership campaign hustings at in London. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA Boris Johnson on Varadkar: ‘Why isn’t he called Murphy like all the rest of them’
The sterling exchange rate is vital for Irish exporters, for tourism, for cross-border and online shopping and for the the tens of thousands of people and businesses who operate some parts of their lives in the two currencies. Will Boris Johnson send sterling spiralling towards parity – and what would this mean?
‘Swap a hurl for a cricket bat, the word “Brussels” for “Dublin”, and Boris Johnson would be right at home in a back bar in south Kerry, waging a derisory finger at “them up in Dublin” with one hand and knocking back a pint with the other.’ Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters Irishman in London: Could Boris be Britain’s first cute hoor prime minister?

Simon Coveney appears on BBC TV’s The Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain, July 21st, 2019. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/Reuters ‘We’re all in trouble’ if new PM tears up Brexit deal – Coveney
Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond arrives at the BBC studios in London, Britain, July 21st, 2019. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters Philip Hammond says he will quit if Boris Johnson becomes PM
Boris Johnson has hardened his rhetoric against the backstop. Photograph: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg ‘This folly’: Boris Johnson on the border issue
Tánaiste Simon Coveney: “There are other things that can change and be adapted, particularly the future relationship document but the withdrawal agreement is not up for renegotiation.” Photograph: Henry Nicholls EU ready to work with next British PM on Brexit, Coveney says
Tanaiste Simon Coveney was less than emphatic in response to a question about the necessity under EU rules for controls on animal-based food imports on the Border, ‘at the point of entry. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/File Photo/Reuters Brexit: Brussels is in waiting-for-Boris mode, Coveney says
German chancellor Angela Merkel at her summer press conference in Berlin on Friday. Photograph:John MacDougall/Getty Images Merkel calls for fresh thinking to negate need for Border backstop
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British Labour peer, Lord Andrew Adonis, a pro-EU Remainer, photographed at the IIEA. Photograph: Alan Betson Labour peer predicts ‘deep parliamentary crisis’ in October over Brexit
A Commons report has dismissed the argument used by Brexiteers that a no-deal departure would force the EU to come back to the table. File photograph: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images Brexit report: No-deal is ‘leap into the unknown’ that will damage livelihoods
MPs convening for the announcement of voting on the ‘Benn Amendment’ calibrated to prevent the next prime minister from suspending parliament to pursue a no-deal Brexit. Photograph: via EPA Brexit: MPs narrow Johnson’s no-deal room for manoeuvre
British chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond: one of about 30 Conservatives who abstained from Thursday’s vote. Photograph: Pascal Rossignol Whip-defying UK ministers will not be disciplined by May
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, the contenders to succeed Theresa May, have said they want the backstop removed from the withdrawal agreement. The EU has said the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened Varadkar raises prospect of Brexit backstop applying only to North
Secretary general of the Department of Public Expenditure and Law Reform Robert Watt is among those speaking at an economics forum in September. Photograph: Aidan Crawley Dublin Economics Workshop to feature Robert Watt
Members of parliament convening for the announcement of voting on the ‘Benn Amendment’ in the House of Commons. Photograph: UK Parliamentary Recording Unit Brexit: MPs pass amendment to prevent suspension of parliament
Boris Johnson holds a kipper in the air to make a false claim about EU regulations during a speech at the final Conservative Party leadership hustings, in London on Wednesday. Photograph: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s kipper claim is a total red herring, says EU
Varadkar: Potential delays at Dublin (pictured) and Rosslare ports. File photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times Port delays likely under no-deal Brexit, warns Varadkar
Micheál Martin: provoking a general election in the coming months would be ’irresponsible’. File photograph: Cyril Byrne Provoking a general election would be ‘irresponsible’ – Martin
Theresa May: “Our politics retreated back into its binary pre-referendum positions – a winner-takes-all approach to leaving or remaining.” Photograph: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg Spirit of political compromise urged by May in Chatham House
‘In a hard-Brexit scenario, I could see sterling-euro at parity,’ said Goodbody economist Dermot O’Leary. Sterling could move to parity with euro ‘and beyond’ if Brexit turns ‘messy’
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt taking part in a debate on Monday night. Photograph: Louis Wood - WPA Pool/Getty Images Sterling plunges to six-month low as no-deal Brexit worries build
Ursula von der Leyen reacts after the European Parliament voted in favour of her as the new European Commission president. Photograph: Patrick Seeger/EPA New European Commission president backs Brexit extension
Conservative leadership candidate Boris Johnson at Westminster. “No to time limits or unilateral escape hatches or all these elaborate devices, glosses, codicils and so on that you could apply to the backstop.” Photograph: Getty Images Johnson rules out backstop even with time limit or exit clause; Hunt says it ‘is dead’
Dominic Grieve: Johnson making Brexit choices starker and starker. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA Wire Johnson ‘further radicalising’ on Brexit, says Grieve
Conservative party leadership candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt during a head-to-head debate hosted by The Sun at Talk Radio in The News Building, London. Photograph: Louis Wood/The Sun/PA Wire Hunt and Johnson: backstop is dead and can’t be in any EU deal
Anti-Brexit protesters demonstrating before a Tory leadership hustings in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Photograph: Jacob King/PA Wire Boris Johnson under pressure to rule out suspending parliament to force no-deal
Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons, Minister for Tourism Shane Ross and Joan O’Shaughnessy, chairman of Tourism Ireland. Mr Ross said the figures for 2019 to date have been excellent given the uncertainty in the global economy. Photograph: Keith Arkins Tourism Ireland warns hard Brexit could cost industry €390m a year
Britain’s Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox visits students taking part in a mock trade negotiation. Photograph: Reuters Brexit: Britain looks to train school-leavers as future trade negotiators
European Commission president-designate Ursula von der Leyen considers the proposed EU-UK withdrawal agreement a good deal “that we need to stick to without any question”. Photograph: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty British hopes of fresh Brexit deal shot down in Brussels
Jeffrey Donaldson said he would be urging the incoming British prime minister to engage with Dublin to ‘try and resolve these difficulties in advance of the impending deadline in October’. DUP MP urges Dublin to work with UK on Brexit as peace guarantor
Former British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, speaks at a Conservative Party leadership campaign hustings at Cheltenham. Photograph: Vickie Flores/EPA ‘Answer the bloody question’ – Boris Johnson heckled during leadership debate
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: checks on live animals and products could be carried out at ports in Northern Ireland and the Republic if the British government and the EU agreed to treat the island of Ireland as a single zone. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP UK facing decades of economic decline, Varadkar warns
Boris Johnson onstage during the Conservative leadership hustings at Cheltenham Racecourse: Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Brexit: Boris Johnson says backstop must be removed from withdrawal agreement
Fianna Fáil Brexit spokeswoman Lisa Chambers. Photograph: Fran Veale ‘Hostility’ between Irish, UK governments must be addressed, Dáil hears
Leo Varadkar said Britain would have to accept Northern Ireland being treated differently. File photograph: Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/Pool/Reuters Government looking at port checks on whole island in no-deal Brexit – Taoiseach
Fresh report from Northern Ireland civil service warns that at least 40,000 jobs would be lost if UK crashes out without deal. Coveney criticises Johnson and Hunt's ‘disingenuous’ Brexit debate
John Kyle, Progressive Unionist Party councillor at Belfast City Hall. Photograph: Simon Carswell Unionists fear Border poll would put North on ‘slippery slope’ – loyalist
Bonfire builders complete their structure near the peace wall in west Belfast on July 9th. Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Loyalists on Brexit: ‘There will never be a united Ireland’
Stormont’s no-deal analysis suggests 40,000 jobs could be at risk in the North if the UK crashes out of the European Union. Brexit report suggests 40,000 job losses in North in event of no-deal
The European Regional Development fund is responsible for 85% of the scheme’s six-year €269m budget. Brexit: EU cash for cross-Border co-operation ‘vital for North’
Belfast city centre. There could be a decline of between £100 million to £180 million in exports to the Republic in the event of a no-deal Brexit Up to 40,000 jobs at risk from no-deal Brexit in North
Orange Order grand secretary Mervyn Gibson, at the Museum of Orange Heritage, Belfast. Photograph: Liam McBurney 'We are not going to be bribed out of the United Kingdom' - Orange Order chief
Tánaiste Simon Coveney with Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee: Mr Coveney promises there will be no infrastructure on the Border. Photograph: Gareth Chaney Collins Need for checks on imports under no-deal Brexit admitted
“The Border communities are currently at a double disadvantage with the imminence of Brexit and the non-functioning of the assembly in Stormont” Businesses urged to plan to protect cross-Border measures
Tánaiste Simon Coveney: “We are not going to put checks on the Border or close to it.” Photograph: Henry Nicholls No-deal Brexit to involve checks on goods, says Tánaiste
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Simon Coveney: a crash-out Brexit ‘would involve additional costs for and disruption to businesses throughout the island, particularly those in Northern Ireland.’ Photograph: PA No-deal Brexit will see checks on UK imports but not at border, says Goverment
Jeremy Corbyn has said the Labour Party will challenge whoever is the next Tory leader to put their Brexit deal to the public in a second referendum. Photograph: House of Commons/PA Wire Corbyn says Labour would back remain in Brexit referendum
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Simon Coveney: Mr Coveney is set to tell Ministers a no-deal Brexit is more likely now than at any time to date. Photograph: Michelle Devane/PA Cabinet to be told about ‘dire’ realities of no-deal Brexit
Port of Rotterdam. A new freight shipping route between Waterford and Rotterdam has been welcomed by the Irish Exporters Association. Photograph: iStock Hauliers welcome new Waterford to Rotterdam freight services
DUP MP Sammy Wilson has criticised a warning to unionists over a Border poll. Photograph: Liam McBurney/The Irish Times Hard Border could lead to breakup of UK, Tory MP warns unionists
Doing business with the UK will not just be more difficult for businesses - it will be more difficult for consumers, too No-deal Brexit: 12 ways you could be affected
Simon Coveney Government to ramp up no-deal Brexit preparations
Boris Johnson insists he is not bluffing about being prepared to leave the EU without a deal. Photograph: Frank Augstein/Pool via Bloomberg Northern Irish Bill could be used as vehicle to thwart no-deal Brexit
Owner Des Cooney: ‘If I had a euro for every photograph taken every day outside my shop, I’d be a rich man.’ Photograph: Ronan McGreevy Knobs & Knockers to quit Dublin city centre after 40 years
The RSA said a UK driving licence would no longer be valid in the Republic if there was a no-deal Brexit on October 31st. File photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire At least 30,000 UK driving licences exchanged for Irish ones this year
Former British Conservative minister Greg Hands co-chairman of the Alternative Arrangements Commission, pictured in Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times Backstop ‘alternatives’ could form basis of new EU-UK deal – Tory MP
The Short Brothers Bombardier factory in Belfast. Photograph: Jonathan Porter/PressEye Bombardier in North has taken ‘steps to mitigate’ a no-deal Brexit
Tory leadership candidate Boris Johnson attempting to make sausages during a visit to a food company near Bedale, Yorkshire. Photograph: Darren Staples/Bloomberg May defends backstop and warns successor not to put Belfast Agreement at risk
An Oireachtas committee on the implementation of the Belfast Agreement has been warned of the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit on Ireland’s wildlife and environment. File photograph: Cyril Byrne No-deal Brexit a threat to nature in Ireland, committee hears
Matt Frei, Europe editor with Channel 4, speaking at the Ictu biennial congress in Dublin. Photograph: Kevin Cooper Photoline Brexit debate has moved into ‘bonkers’ phase, Ictu conference told
Britain’s prime minister Theresa May will claim that she made strengthening the Union an explicit government priority. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters May to warn no-deal Brexit could endanger integrity of UK
German chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes President Michael D Higgins for meeting at the chancellery in Berlin on Wednesday. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP Higgins on Brexit: 'our nearest neighbour is throwing a tantrum'
Photograph: iStock UK economy shrank in second quarter as Brexit, global worries mount -PMI
British Conservative party leadership contender Boris Johnson arriving at the Culloden Hotel, Belfast. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Brexit withdrawal agreement a ‘dead letter’, says Boris Johnson
Brexit Party MEPs turn their backs during the European anthem ahead of the inaugural session at the European Parliament. Photograph: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images Brexit Party MEPs turn backs on EU anthem on parliament’s first day
There are fears of a ’cheddar mountain’ in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Photograph: iStock Irish dairy industry moves out of cheddar over fears of no-deal Brexit
Conservative Party leadership contender Jeremy Hunt delivers a speech on his Brexit plan in London, England. Photograph: Frank Augstein – WPA Pool/Getty Images Jeremy Hunt threatens to abandon EU talks over new Brexit deal
Tory leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt appearing on the Andrew Marr Show in London. Photograph: Reuters 'A heavy heart': Jeremy Hunt says would leave EU without deal
Conservative Party leadership candidate Boris Johnson at a campaign event in Wombourne on Friday. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/EPA Johnson tells Tory hustings he is not trying to avoid scrutiny
(From left) First minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, minister for the cabinet office David Lidington and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar during a press conference a British Irish Council summit meeting in Manchester. Photograph: PA Brexit: Varadkar warns next British PM deal will not be re-opened
IConservative party leadership contender Boris Johnsonat the Wight Shipyard Company at Venture Quay on the Isle of Wight on Thursday. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images Boris Johnson says ministers must sign up to no-deal Brexit
Boris Johnson speaking during a live digital hustings on Wednesday as he faced questions from the public, hosted on the Conservative party’s Facebook page. Screengrab: Conservatives/Facebook/PA Wire Boris Johnson: Odds of no-deal Brexit are ‘a million-to-one against’
British home secretary Sajid Javid is Boris Johnson’s favoured choice as chancellor. Photograph: EPA/Andy Rain Johnson eyes public spending spree with Javid as chancellor
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: in July, the Government will publish an updated no-deal Brexit contingency action plan. Photograph: EPA No-deal Brexit looking increasingly likely, Taoiseach warns
The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, arriving at the Department of Finance on Tuesday to deliver the summer economic statement. Photograph: Aidan Crawley Varadkar’s proposed tax cuts at risk in event of no-deal Brexit
Conservative leadership candidate Boris Johnson with local business people in a cafe in Oxshott, Surrey. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Boris Johnson promises ‘do-or-die’ Brexit by October 31st
Jeremy Hunt talking with Chelsea Pensioners during a tour of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire Hunt calls for ‘technology-led solution’ to keep Border open after Brexit
Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds in the photograph that appeared in selected British newspapers this week. Boris Johnson will not say who released photo with partner, or when it was taken
Boris Johnson has proposed tax cuts that would cost £20 billion a year. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA Boris Johnson’s proposed tax cuts could cost £20bn a year
Belfast City Hall: the number of firms that have gone out of business in the North since the UK voted to leave the EU has increased by 114.3 per cent on an annual basis. Sharp increase in business insolvencies in Northern Ireland since Brexit
Douglas Carswell: He said the Irish Government had “played a blinder tactically” in putting the backstop central in the withdrawal agreement but had been “strategically stupid” if its intention was “to bind Britain in” and minimise the consequences of Brexit. Photograph: Getty Images Irish Government ‘strategically stupid’, claims former Ukip MP
Jeremy Hunt: ‘We owe the Conservative party, we owe the country, a proper contest.’ Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images TV debate cancelled as Boris Johnson refuses to face rival
A common food safety and animal health area covering Britain and Ireland could help to keep the Border open without the backstop after Brexit, a group of politicians, academics and trade experts has proposed. File photograph: Stoyan Nenov/Reuters British group says common food and animal area could keep Border open
Jeremy Hunt (L) has previously attacked Boris Johnson over reports he was “bottling” a live TV debate before postal ballots are returned. Photograph: Odd Andersen/Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty ‘Don’t be a coward’: Hunt calls on Johnson to attend TV debate
Trucks and trailers lined up at Rosslare Europort. Photograph: Alan Betson State paid €1.6m for Rosslare site to carry out checks in the event of no-deal Brexit
Taisoeach Leo Varadkar holds a news conference at the end of a European Council summit in Brussels. Photograph: Julien Warnand/EPA Varadkar says EU open to Brexit talks with new British PM
Simon Coveney: People are entitled to their opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts. File photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times. Tánaiste warns against ‘dumbing down’ of Border challenges to ‘tech solutions’
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaks with European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier prior to a meeting on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels, Belgium. Photograph: Olivier Matthys/EPA EU leaders set to clash with next UK prime minister on Brexit deal
Jeremy Hunt (left) and the Boris Johnson in 2012; the two will now go head to head in the British Conservative Party leadership race. Photogrph: Yui Mok/PA Wire Tory leadership race comes down to Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt
Culloville Village crossroads: The UK document specifies 142 areas of joint North-South co-operation, from congenital heart disease to alcohol misuse. Photograph: Alan Betson EU’s ‘mapping’ report stresses need for open Irish border
Jeremy Hunt with Boris Johnson in London ahead of the 2012 Olympics. The pair are the final two contenders for the Conservative Party leadership. File photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt: The two Tories fighting it out to be PM
European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar shake hands prior to the European Union leaders summit in Brussels. Photograph: Olivier Matthys/Reuters EU has run out of patience with the UK over Brexit – Varadkar
The Bank of England trimmed its expectations for second-quarter growth, predicting GDP will remain flat against a previous forecast for 0.2% expansion. Photograph: Getty Images Bank of England keeps rates steady amid heightened Brexit fears
The European Commission has strongly emphasised the need to preserve a frictionless Border in Ireland if longstanding and extensive North-South cooperation is to be sustained. File photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times. Frictionless Border needed to sustain North-South cooperation, commission says
IDA chief Martin Shanahan: he said while the immediate outlook looked positive there were “significant downside risks to FDI in the medium term”. Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill State has won more than 80 Brexit-related FDI projects
Anti-Brexit campaigners, Borders Against Brexit, set up a mock customs search in 2016. Photograph: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne British government appoints expert panel on ‘soft border’ options
Rory Stewart: “I remain deeply committed to you and to this country.” Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Tory leadership race nears run-off as Rory Stewart eliminated
European regulators are arguing that granting of banking licences was based on clear capitalisation plans for new entities, say sources Brexit: Global firms postponing transfer of capital to EU from UK
Lord Paul Bew said: “A new, modern case for the union must be developed, based on the principle of consent.” Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images Leading historian says case must be made for NI to stay in UK
Imam Abdullah Patel from Bristol appearing during the BBC TV debate for the leadership of the Conservative Party on Tuesday evening. Photograph: BBC/PA Wire School suspends imam who appeared on BBC Tory debate
Conservative Party leadership contenders Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Sajid Javid and Rory Stewart take part in the BBC television debate in London. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/AFP/Getty Images Boris Johnson in commanding lead ahead of third Conservative ballot
Michel Barnier, above, has told Brexit secretary Steve Barclay there can be no cherry-picking of the deal. Photograph: Bart Maat/EPA Brexit: Brussels refuses UK request for separate citizens’ rights deal