MONDAY 5 AUGUST 2019Lend a helping hand?
Stephen Barclay urges Michel Barnier to convince EU leaders to
reopen Brexit withdrawal talks or risk no deal
Flag bearers: the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator and the Brexit secretary (EPA)
BENJAMIN KENTISH
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
Stephen Barclay has called on Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, to seek a new “mandate”
from member states if he wants to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
The Brexit secretary warned Mr Barnier that no deal was “coming down the tracks” and said the “political
realities have changed” since negotiations began. He urged the EU to give its negotiating team permission
for “a change of approach”.
The move is likely to be seen as the latest in a series of hardline interventions from government ministers