Theresa May 'cross and frustrated' by Boris Johnson's explosive 'chuck Chequers' speech

Hatty Collier2 October 2018
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Theresa May has admitted she was “cross and frustrated” by Boris Johnson’s explosive Brexit speech today in which he demanded she “chuck” her Chequers blueprint.

The Prime Minister said she had not watched the former foreign secretary’s speech but that she was irritated to learn of the way he had spoken about the Irish backstop.

After slamming her Brexit plans and stealing the limelight at the Tory party conference on Tuesday, Mrs May said of Mr Johnson: "Boris always puts on a good show" and refused to speculate on whether he could be a future PM.

During a round of broadcast interviews in Birmingham, Mrs May told the BBC: "There are one or two things that Boris said that I'm cross about. He wants to tear up our guarantee to the people of Northern Ireland.

"Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. We are all - he and I and all members here are members of the Conservative and Unionist Party. That's because we believe in the Union of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is part of that Union.

"We have a guarantee for the people of Northern Ireland and we are upholding that. Our Chequers plan does that. It is the only plan on the table at the moment that does."

Frustrated: Theresa May said parts of Boris Johnson's Brexit speech had made her "cross"
PA

She later told ITV that she was frustrated at “Boris talking about the backstop in this way,” adding: "What he appeared to be saying was he wanted to tear up something which was effectively a guarantee to the people of Northern Ireland. I believe as a Unionist that it is important that we recognise the needs and concerns of people in Northern Ireland."

Northern Ireland and trade remains a key sticking point in the negotiations with the EU on Brexit. Both the UK and EU agree that that the Withdrawal Agreement needs a backstop to ensure that if there is a delay in implementing the new relationship, there still will not be a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Boris Johnson branded Theresa May’s Chequers plans 'a cheat' in a barnstorming speech at the Conservative Party conference
AFP/Getty Images

But the EU is proposing to achieve this by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union, which Mrs May has said does not respect the outcome of the EU referendum in 2016. Mrs May believes her Chequers blueprint is the answer but in his speech today, Mr Johnson’s called her plans “a cheat” and urged the Tory party to “chuck Chequers”.

Under pressure on Brexit: Theresa May
REUTERS

He called plans for an Irish backstop “constitutionally abominable” and said that the EU effectively wanted to “parade the UK down the street in manacles”.

Mrs May told ITV: “Boris always puts on a good show” following talk that Mr Johnson had stolen the limelight at the party conference by elbowing her Brexit plans and today’s star speaker – Home Secretary Sajid Javid – into the shade.

Asked if she could envisage Mr Johnson as a future PM, Mrs May told the BBC: "I'm not speculating about or commenting about jobs for individual Members of Parliament.

"This is not about the jobs of politicians, this is about the jobs of people out there in our country, it is about protecting those jobs for the future."

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