Top contenders to be Britain's next prime minister both say they will scrap a contentious Irish border provision that has hamstrung efforts to approve a divorce agreement with the European Union.
The two contenders to be Britain's next prime minister both said Tuesday they would unblock the Brexit impasse by scrapping a contentious Irish border provision that has hamstrung efforts to approve a divorce agreement with the European Union.
Hunt and Johnson — Britain's foreign secretary and his immediate predecessor — are competing to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, who is quitting as leader of the Conservative Party and the country after Parliament rejected her Brexit deal. A key sticking point is a measure known as the backstop, designed to ensure that the border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland remains all but invisible.
He said a"technology-led solution" could remove the need for customs posts and other border infrastructure. Britain and the EU have agreed to look into technological fixes, but say a solution doesn't currently exist.He called the backstop a form of"moral blackmail" by the EU, and later tweeted:"I will never accept a deal that seeks to bind us in the EU's customs union forever, or which divides our United Kingdom.
Most economists say leaving without an agreement would severely disrupt trade between Britain and the EU, plunging the country into recession."We should not be terrified of a no-deal Brexit," he said.
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