Michael Creed: No interest in ‘trapping’ Britain in a Brexit purgatory

A Government minister has insisted Ireland has no interest in “trapping” Britain in a Brexit purgatory amid ongoing fears of a deepening diplomatic stand-off over the backstop.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed rejected the repeated claim from London just 24 hours after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and British prime minister Boris Johnson clashed in their first phone call on the matter.

Speaking as Mr Johnson held talks with all five Stormont parties in Belfast yesterday, Mr Creed told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland programme there is a need for the “megaphone diplomacy” to end.

Saying Britain should listen more carefully to Ireland’s position, he said the Government does not want to trap Britain in the backstop and will only use it as an “insurance policy”.

“We have no interest in trapping — as has been suggested — the UK in a permanent backstop arrangement. It’s an insurance policy that we hope would never be invoked,” Mr Creed said.

The minister said it is important to remember the backstop is only in the withdrawal agreement because it was initially put forward by Britain, and that it must be retained unless a coherent and workable alternative is agreed.

However, he said there will be no change until Mr Johnson backs down from his current stance of demanding the backstop is scrapped before he sits down for formal talks with anyone.

“I don’t think it is good enough to say ‘I’ll only negotiate when you tell me what I want to hear’.

“Boris Johnson needs to engage, we need to sit down, we need to be absolutely certain that the withdrawal agreement has been negotiated in good faith on the basis of red lines that the UK has insisted upon,” said Mr Creed.

The comments came as the Central Bank published a detailed Brexit update in which it warned a no-deal crash-out Brexit could see 34,000 jobs wiped out in Ireland and a dramatic economic slowdown.

Responding to the financial concerns yesterday, a number of groups including the National Off-Licence Association said the situation poses real fears for thousands of families and businesses across the country.

“Our members are growing increasingly concerned regarding the possibility of a perfect storm,” said the group’s government affairs director Evelyn Jones.