Daily Express - 30.07.2019

4 Daily Express Tuesday, July 30, 2019

DX1ST

THE BATTLE

‘The current

there’s ample

Speed up break from Brussels, says Gove

FROM PAGE ONE

‘We’ll step

up war on

terrorists’

HOME Secretary Priti

Patel yesterday vowed

to strengthen Britain’s

intelligence ties with

key allies against

Islamist foreign fighters.

In her first major

intervention since being

promoted by Prime

Minister Boris Johnson,

she called for border

defences to be

bolstered and warned

more must be done to

tackle the “foreign

fighter” threat.

Hosting a major

security summit in

London, Ms Patel also

challenged internet

giants Facebook,

Google and Microsoft to

help tackle the scourge

of online child sexual

exploitation and abuse.

She added: “This is an

exciting moment for the

UK as we look to

respond to a challenging

and rapidly changing

global environment.

“The UK is a global

leader on national

security and child

protection and we are

committed to working

with our close partners

on shared challenges.”

The summit includes

intelligence chiefs and

ministers from the “Five

Eyes” countries –

Britain, the US, Canada,

Australia and New

Zealand. US Attorney

General William Barr

and Australia’s home

affairs minister Peter

Dutton are among those

attending the event.

The Five Eyes alliance

evolved from a Second

World War alliance

between the UK and US

code-breaking teams.

Priti Patel hosted summit

Invitation... Emmanuel Macron

Ready for talks... Angela Merkel

insistence that Theresa May’s

Withdrawal Agreement cannot be

rewritten.

Mr Johnson’s uncompromising

warning came during his first visit to

Scotland since becoming Prime

Minister last week.

“My approach is to be very out-

ward-going, I don’t want the UK to

be aloof or hanging back,” he said

during a visit to the Faslane naval

base near Glasgow.

“I want us to engage, to hold out

the hand, to go the extra thousand

miles, and what we want to do is

make it absolutely clear that the

backstop is no good, it’s dead, it’s

got to go.

“The Withdrawal Agreement is

dead, it’s got to go. But there is scope

for us to do a new deal.

“We will make it very clear to our

friends – we’re talking to the Irish

today – what the limits are and what

we want to do. We’re very confident

that with goodwill on both sides,

two mature political entities, the UK

and EU, can get this thing done.”

Mr Johnson has had invitations

from French President Emmanuel

Macron and German Chancellor

Angela Merkel to meet this summer

in an effort to break the Brexit

deadlock.

The Prime Minister said he had so

far had some “interesting conversa-

tions with our European partners”

to make his stance clear.

“It’s very, very positive and they

all know where we are,” he said.

“We can’t accept the backstop.

The Withdrawal Agreement as it

stands is dead, I think everybody

gets that, but there is ample scope to

do a new deal and a better deal.”

Insisting he was “confident” of

eventual concessions from EU lead-

ers, he added: “They are resting on

their current position, but I think

they understand that the UK and the

EU are two great political entities

and I’m sure it is possible for us to

come up with a new deal that will be

to the benefit of both sides and that’s

what we are aiming for.”

A Downing Street spokeswoman

said: “The PM has been clear that he

wants to meet EU leaders and nego-

tiate, but not to sit down and be told

that the EU cannot possibly reopen

the Withdrawal Agreement, and that

is the message he has been giving to

leaders when he’s spoken to them

on the telephone.

“The PM wants to leave with a

deal and we hope that the EU will

change their position on the

Withdrawal Agreement and the

backstop.”

Mr Johnson had been in contact

with “a number” of European lead-

ers by telephone since coming to

office last Wednesday and calls were

expected to continue in the coming

days, the spokeswoman said.

But face-to-face talks had been

ruled out unless the EU dropped its

refusal to reopen the Withdrawal

Agreement negotiated by Theresa

May.

Mr Johnson wants the planned

backstop – which could keep the

entire UK tied into the EU’s customs

union in order to prevent physical

customs checks on the Irish border –

stripped out of the document.

The spokeswoman added: “The

Withdrawal Agreement has been

rejected by Parliament a number of

times and clearly it is not going to

pass in its current form, it needs to

change if there’s going to be a deal.

“He [Mr Johnson] wants to

approach the negotiations in an ener-

getic way, but something needs to

change. We hope they change their

minds in terms of not wanting to reo-

pen the Withdrawal Agreement.

“He has been clear that the back-

stop has to be abolished. He remains

confident that the EU will stop

claiming the Withdrawal Agreement

cannot be changed, but until that

happens we must assume there will

be a no-deal Brexit on October 31.

“The Government’s central focus

is preparing for that.”

Downing Street officials confirmed

the Government will soon launch a

public information campaign to

advise households and businesses to

prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

Ministers have ruled out sending

leaflets to households, but are plan-

ning widespread advertising in the

media and online, with up to

£100million to be set aside.

“You can expect to see an ambi-

tious, active public awareness cam-

By Macer Hall

No delays...Michael Gove

MICHAEL Gove yesterday ordered

a dramatic acceleration of prepara-

tions for a no-deal departure from

the EU at the inaugural meeting of

the new “Brexit war cabinet”.

The Chancellor of the Duchy

of Lancaster, who is in charge of

co-ordinating Whitehall’s efforts to

ensure readiness to break ties with

Brussels this autumn in any circum-

stances, chaired the first session of

Boris Johnson’s new Exit Strategy

Committee.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Gove

said: “There won’t be any delays,

we are determined that we are

going to leave on October 31st, and

it’s my job to make sure the coun-

try is ready.”

The Prime Minister has set up

three new Cabinet committees to

oversee different aspects of the

Brexit preparations to address con-

cerns that crucial decisions were

not being taken quickly enough.

Mr Gove stepped into chair the

meeting at the Cabinet Office as

Mr Johnson was visiting Scotland

yesterday. Also present were

Chancellor Sajid Javid, Foreign

Secretary Dominic Raab, EU Exit

Secretary Stephen Barclay and

Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.

A Downing Street spokeswoman

said the Exit Strategy Committee

was discussing “a whole range of

issues relating to EU exit”.

She added: “These committees

are sending a clear message about

the Government’s plans to deliver

Brexit.

“They will obviously take charge

and discuss very important issues

to do with Brexit, particularly pre-

paring for leaving without a deal.”

Mr Gove will also convene the

first meeting of the new Daily

Operations Committee today.

The panel of key ministers and

officials, codenamed “XO”, will

gather in a Whitehall basement

used as the nerve centre when tack-

ling civil emergencies.

The committee can make opera-

tional decisions on no-deal Brexit

planning and send the most impor-

tant to the Prime Minister or

Chancellor for immediate approval.

Contact

The premier meets Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon