PM May's ministers need more time on Brexit backstop mechanism - spokesman
FILE PHOTO - An anti-Brexit demonstrator waves flags outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain, September 10, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain needs more time to consider possible mechanisms to ensure it cannot be bound to the European Union by a backstop to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Tuesday.
He said a meeting of May’s cabinet on Tuesday discussed options for such a mechanism that would make sure that Britain would not be kept in a backstop arrangement indefinitely, but that more work was necessary to find a working solution.
“(May) said that while 95 percent of the withdrawal agreement had been concluded, on the Northern Ireland backstop there are a number of issues that we still need to work through and these are the most difficult,” the spokesman told reporters.
“This includes ensuring that if the backstop is ever needed it is not permanent, and there is a mechanism to ensure the UK could not be held in the arrangement indefinitely.”
He added: “While the UK should aim to conclude the withdrawal agreement as soon as possible, this would not be done at any cost.”
Reporting by William James, writing by Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Kylie MacLellan
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