Tánaiste Simon Coveney has thrown down the gauntlet to the likely next British prime minister Boris Johnson by saying he is the “only person” who knows if there is going to be a no-deal Brexit. Mr Coveney directed questions on the risk of a worst-case scenario to Mr Johnson, as he insisted the EU remains “consistent” in its support for Ireland. Speaking to reporters in Brussels after meeting the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Mr Coveney mirrored Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s comments on Thursday by saying Ireland will “work with” the new British prime minister. Mr Coveney said: “I think the Taoiseach will be very clear in that meeting that the withdrawal agreement isn’t going to be re-negotiated. “We’ve recognised Ireland is not going to allow a situation whereby the Republic of Ireland effectively gets dragged out of the EU single market.

Source: Irish Examiner July 20, 2019 04:07 UTC