The Sunday Telegraph - 01.09.2019

BREXIT ENDGAME

By Edward Malnick
SUNDAY POLITICAL EDITOR

THE EU’s chief Brexit negotiator today
declares that he will not scrap the Irish
backstop, as Boris Johnson considers
ousting Tory MPs who undermine his
attempts to secure a new deal with
Brussels.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph,
Michel Barnier insists that the contro-
versial insurance plan for the Irish bor-
der represents the “maximum
flexibility” that Brussels can offer, and
says that any solution to the current
impasse must be “compatible with the
Withdrawal Agreement” previously
agreed with Theresa May.
He also hits back against Mr John-
son’s claims that a no-deal exit would
be the fault of the EU, saying he would
be “surprised” if the public “succumb
to the idea that the EU is to blame for a
difficult political situation in the UK”.
Mr Barnier’s comments appear to fly
in the face of Mr Johnson’s optimism
that EU leaders “want this thing done”,
after Angela Merkel, the German chan-
cellor, and Emmanuel Macron, the
French president, expressed a willing-
ness to discuss alternatives to the plan
described by the Prime Minister as

‘I bought this stamp after

Parliament was prorogued.

Does the Queen look

fed up to you?’

Deadly toll of smart motorways

puts nationwide rollout in doubt

World cannot ignore the plight of

blasphemy victims, says Asia Bibi

By Steve Bird

PLANS for smart motorways across the

country have been dealt a blow after

the widow of a man killed on a notori-

ous stretch of the M1 revealed she plans

“anti-democratic”. Mr Barnier says he

would only start to negotiate “alterna-

tive arrangements” to the backstop if

the current agreement was passed by

Britain’s Parliament.

His intervention comes as Mr John-

son prepares for a showdown tomor-

row with former ministers, including

Philip Hammond and David Gauke,

leading a campaign to block a no-deal

exit from the EU on Oct 31.

Downing Street is considering pos-

sible sanctions against Tory MPs who

join efforts to seize control of the Com-

mons agenda this week – including

deselecting those who support the

move. Such a radical step would leave

the rebels unable to stand as Conserva-

tive candidates.

The measure would be likely to re-

sult in an October general election,

held before Brexit, as it would be likely

to leave the Conservatives without a

majority, even with the support of the

Democratic Unionist Party.

Mr Johnson could then field sup-

porters of his plans as parliamentary

candidates in place of the rebels.

Also writing in this newspaper, Mi-

chael Gove, the Chancellor of the

Duchy of Lancaster, warns that remov-

ing the option for the UK to walk away

on Oct 31 will “diminish” the “chances

of securing changes” to Mrs May’s deal

that can make the agreement accepta-

ble to Parliament.

A cohort of Tory MPs is considering

backing a move on Tuesday by Sir Oli-

ver Letwin, a former minister, to seize

control of parliamentary business with

the intention of forcing Mr Johnson to

prolong the UK’s membership of the

EU and thus avoid a no-deal Brexit on

Hallowe’en.

Mr Barnier’s article, which appears

to contradict Downing Street’s claims

that it is making progress over its de-

mands for the EU to scrap the backstop,

is likely to be seen as an attempt to in-

fluence this week’s votes. Tomorrow,

Mr Hammond, Mr Gauke and other

former ministers are expected to de-

mand that Mr Johnson show “evi-

dence” of progress in his negotiations

with the EU, as he tries to convince

them not to back Sir Oliver’s plan.

Mr Barnier writes: “I am not optimis-

tic about avoiding a no-deal scenario,

but we should all continue to work

with determination. The EU is ready to

explore all avenues that the UK govern-

ment may present and that are compat-

ible with the Withdrawal Agreement.

“Its objective is simply to have an in-

surance policy in place that guarantees

that the border between Ireland and

Northern Ireland remains fully open,

and that the status quo of cross-border

exchanges on the island of Ireland is

maintained,” he said.

On Aug 22, following a meeting with

Mr Johnson, Mr Macron suggested that

the Withdrawal Agreement could be

changed, albeit without a “total reshuf-

fling”.

Mr Barnier adds: “On the EU side, we

had intense discussions with EU mem-

ber states on the need to guarantee the

integrity of the EU’s single market,

while keeping that border fully open.

In this sense, the backstop is the maxi-

mum amount of flexibility that the EU

can offer to a non-member state.

“Why? Because the backstop pro-

vides Northern Ireland with the eco-

nomic benefits of the single market for

goods, which the EU is exceptionally

willing to offer due to the unique cir-

cumstances on the island of Ireland.”

Mr Gove insists in a separate article

in this newspaper that Mr Johnson’s

pledge to deliver Brexit on Oct 31 “do or

die” is “helping us to secure a solution”.

Today, he launches one of the coun-

try’s biggest-ever public information

campaigns, aimed at preparing the UK

for a no-deal exit.

Yesterday, Mr Hammond said it would

be “staggeringly hypocritical” of Mr

Johnson to deselect rebels, given that

“eight members of the current Cabinet

have defied the party whip this year”.

Meanwhile, Suella Braverman, who

is now co-chairing a panel to find alter-

natives to the current Irish border plan,

joins Brexiteers who state that simply

dropping the backstop will not be

enough to win their support.

to sue Highways England for corporate

manslaughter.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that

four people have been killed on the M

in just 10 months after being hit by traf-

fic in a live lane that used to be the hard

shoulder.

Each died after failing to reach a safe

lay-by – or emergency refuge area – on

a 16-mile northbound stretch.

In June, Jason Mercer, 44, and Alex-

andru Murgeanu, 22, died when they

were hit by a lorry after pulling over to

exchange details following a collision.

Mr Mercer’s widow, Claire, accuses

Highways England of failing to provide

her husband and Mr Murgeanu with a

safe haven and not having adequate

systems to detect a stationary vehicle

and close a lane from fast traffic.

Mrs Mercer’s decision to speak pub-

By Ben Farmer and Waqar Gillani

in Islamabad

ASIA BIBI is hoping to move with her

family to Europe, it can be revealed, as

she uses her first newspaper interview

to call for justice for those held on dra-

conian blasphemy charges in Pakistan.

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph

from a secret location in Canada, the

Christian, whose sentencing to death

sparked international outrage, said

“the world should listen” to those still

languishing in prison.

Mrs Bibi fled to Canada after she was

freed from prison earlier this year, but

sources said the refuge had always

been considered temporary. She and

her family are now trying to make ar-

rangements to move to a European

country in the coming months. Mrs

licly follows the discovery of a report

from government-owned Highways

England that found drivers were three

times more likely to break down in a

live lane when the hard shoulder had

been removed.

It also revealed CCTV operators took

an average 20 minutes to spot stranded

vehicles before closing the lane.

Mrs Mercer, from Rotherham, said:

“The smart motorways experiment has

failed and should now be scrapped.”

She warned plans to almost double

the length of smart motorways from

416 miles to 788 by 2025 would result

in more such deaths.

Highways England refused to com-

ment on the deaths, saying it was inap-

propriate during a police inquiry.

Reports: Page 4

Bibi called for reform of blasphemy

laws and spoke of her despair at her

seemingly unending imprisonment as

she spent eight years on death row, but

said her Christian faith had never fal-

tered.

“I pray to God that everyone falsely

implicated in blasphemy cases should

be released, that they get freedom and

God helps them,” she said.

“People should listen to them and

hear them and consider their grief and

help them to get out,” she told The Sun-

day Telegraph.

Sources said Mrs Bibi had decided

she wanted to live in Europe because of

the help she had been given by the Eu-

ropean Union, but she had at first been

given refuge in Canada because her

daughters had moved there before her.

Mrs Bibi denied earlier reports she

had wanted to live in the UK and said

she had never wanted to leave her

homeland. Ján Figel, the EU’s special

envoy for religious freedom, helped to

secure her release. “She is [a] free per-

son, it is her life and decisions are up to

her,” said Mr Figel. “But safety consid-

erations must remain the permanent

factor of her life.”

Interview: Page 15

Editorial Comment: Page 19

Asia Bibi is now free

after being held

on death row in

Pakistan for eight

years on charges

of blasphemy

Immovable

objectives: Boris

Johnson and

Michel Barnier

INSIDE

Reports

Pages 6-

Suella

Braverman

Page 6

Michel

Barnier

Page 7

Michael

Gove

Page 19

Editorial

Comment

Page 19

Barnier vows that he

will not ditch backstop

Johnson mulls purge of

rebels and snap election

Letters 19

Features & Arts 21

Weather 29

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