Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

Leave.EU has made a rare apology for a tweet the organisation posted which showed a picture of Angela Merkel with the words: “We didn’t win two world wars to be pushed around by a Kraut.”

The tweet was apparently in response to unfounded reports from a “No 10 source” Ms Merkel had insisted in a phone call to Boris Johnson that Northern Ireland remains within the European Union’s customs union when the rest of the UK leaves the bloc.

After the tweet generated widespread outrage, co-founder of the organisation Arron Banks admitted it “went too far”, but said “the real outrage is the German suggestion that Northern Ireland be separated from the UK”.

He added: “On reflection the point could have been made better.”

Leave.EU tweeted “We’re sorry”, alongside an emoji of a downcast face.

Despite the anonymous reports from Downing Street on Tuesday morning that Ms Merkel was insisting Northern Ireland remained in full regulatory alignment with the EU, Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson later refused to confirm whether this was an accurate account of the phone call between the two leaders.

The British reports of the call generated an irate response from European council president Donald Tusk, who accused Mr Johnson of playing a “stupid blame game” risking “the future of Europe and the UK”.

Before Leave.EU deleted the tweet calling Ms Merkel a “Kraut”, both Mr Banks and the organisation’s communications director, Andy Wigmore, defended it.

Responding to criticism from former Mirror editor Piers Morgan - who said it made them look like “racist idiots” and confirmed “the very worst stereo-typical impression of Leave voters” - Mr Banks responded on Twitter: “A German leader suggested annexing Northern Ireland and said we can only leave if we agree. Our response was mild!”

And Mr Wigmore also responded to criticism – in his case from Richard Tice – the chair of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, who said it was “stupid and offensive”.

Mr Wigmore responded: “Oh shut up @TiceRichard – you loved it, stop being so pompous....”

Mr Johnson has maintained he is still seeking an exit deal with the UK which Ireland can agree to, and the prime minister held emergency talks with Irish leader Leo Varadkar on Tuesday evening.

A Downing Street spokesperson told reporters afterwards: “The prime minister spoke to the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, tonight. Both sides strongly reiterated their desire to reach a Brexit deal. They hope to meet in person later this week.”

Even as the anonymous briefings from No 10 – widely attributed to Mr Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings – were being reported in the press, officials in Brussels said talks between the UK and the EU were continuing as normal, though David Sassoli, the European parliament president, later said there had been “no progress”.

Mr Johnson has repeatedly said he would not seek an extension to the Brexit deadline, though court documents indicate he has privately promised to do so in order to comply with a law laid down by parliament.

The security minister, Brandon Lewis, has threatened EU citizens with deportation from the UK if they do not apply for settled status after Brexit.

Home Office figures show a million of the estimated 3 million EU citizens in the UK have yet to apply for settled status, which will allow them to stay in the UK.

In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, Lewis said these people risked being deported if they failed to apply by the end of 2020. “If EU citizens have not registered by then without an adequate justification, the immigration rules will apply,” Lewis said.

Asked whether those who did not apply in the next 14 months would face deportation even if they fulfilled all legal conditions for a residence permit, Lewis said: “Theoretically yes. We will apply the rules.”

Campaigners said the comments suggested the government was planning to renege on a promise to EU citizens.

The3million, a group representing EU citizens living in Britain, said it was the first time the government had confirmed what would happen to those who did not apply for settled status.

The prime minister and taoiseach have had a detailed and constructive discussion.

Both continue to believe that a deal is in everybody’s interest. They agreed that they could see a pathway to a possible deal.

Their discussion concentrated on the challenges of customs and consent.

They also discussed the potential to strengthen bilateral relations, including on Northern Ireland.

They agreed to reflect further on their discussions and that officials would continue to engage intensively on them.

Following their discussions the taoiseach will consult with the taskforce 50 and the Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay will meet Michel Barnier tomorrow morning.

Michel Barnier, the European Commission's Chief Negotiator, had a constructive meeting this morning with Steve Barclay, the UK Secretary of State for Exiting the EU.

This afternoon, Michel Barnier debriefed the EU27 Ambassadors. He will shortly inform the European Parliament's Brexit Steering Group.

The EU and the UK have agreed to intensify discussions over the coming days.

The EU's position remains the same: there must be a legally operative solution in the Withdrawal Agreement that avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland, protects the all-island economy and the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in all its dimensions, and safeguards the integrity of the Single Market.

The Commission will take stock with the European Parliament and Member States again on Monday in view of preparing the General Affairs Council (Article 50) on Tuesday morning.

Boris Johnson will update the cabinet later, as UK and EU officials hold talks on getting a deal done in time for the 31 October Brexit deadline.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said "compromise" was inevitable and the PM could be "trusted" to get an agreement acceptable to Leave-backing MPs.

Parliament will meet on Saturday and vote on any deal achieved by Mr Johnson at a Brussels summit this week.

Labour said it would "wait and see", but would oppose anything "damaging".

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "We don't think the Tories have moved too far on on their deal."

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon told the same programme: "We will not vote for the kind of deal specified by Boris Johnson."

Talks in Brussels between UK and EU officials - described as "intense technical discussions" - are continuing on Sunday.

Ambassadors to the EU from 27 member countries are scheduled to meet this evening and Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, is expected to brief them on the talks.

Jean-Claude Juncker has talked up the prospects of a Brexit extension beyond 31 October as EU officials downplayed the chances of a breakthrough in time for this week’s crunch summit.

As talks on Johnson’s latest Brexit proposals continued in Brussels, the European commission president said he would back a prolongation of the UK’s membership if it was sought.

“It’s up to the Brits to decide if they will ask for an extension,” Juncker told the Austrian newspaper the Kurier on Sunday. “But if Boris Johnson were to ask for extra time – which probably he won’t – I would consider it unhistoric to refuse such a request.”

'EU law is superior law in the UK', argues leading Brexiteer

Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested that the government could use EU law in order to force through a no-deal Brexit by the end of the month.

The Commons leader said he believed there was a "pathway to a deal" but hinted that Boris Johnson could use European legislation to get around a law compelling him to delay Brexit if there is no deal in place by next week.

Ahead of a make-or-break week for Brexit, Mr Rees-Mogg warned pro-EU MPs that "it takes two to tango" and any extension must be signed off by Brussels.


It comes as the prime minister faced pressure from the EU to move “further and faster” to break the Brexit impasse, ahead of a critical two-day summit this week.

EU and UK officials will hold talks in Brussels on Monday as the prime minister's hopes of progress stood on a knife edge.

Mr Johnson has repeatedly committed to leaving the EU on 31 October, with or without a deal, but his hands have been tied by a backbench law tabled by Labour's Hilary Benn, that aims to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

Asked how ministers could get round this legislation, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “The law of this land is subject to the law of the European Union, so we’ll have to see what the legal eagles think.”

He added: "Theresa May got an extension not through UK law, but through EU law and until the 1972 European Communities Act is repealed, EU law is superior law in the UK.

"And the remainiacs all know that, because they know that it takes two to tango and any extension has to be agreed by the council."

The Brexiteer urged Leave voters to trust the prime minister, who he described as a "copper-bottomed Eurosceptic" who has "put his political career on the line" in order to leave the EU.

Mr Rees-Mogg argued that the EU "could act swiftly" when necessary, adding: "The 31 October is a really proper deadline. The prime minister has made it absolutely clear that we will leave by 31 October.

"I think that's what the whole nation now wants us to do, they want this issue finished, they want it settled.

"Therefore there is great urgency and the EU and the UK will have to move very quickly to make that work."

Time is running out to hammer out a deal for EU leaders to sign off at the European Council summit on Thursday and Friday, despite talks taking place over the weekend.

The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said "technical-level" talks between officials over the weekend had proved "constructive".

But in a briefing to ambassadors of the remaining EU27 on Sunday in Brussels, he said that "a lot of work remains to be done".

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The challenges for British nationals will vary across the 27 EU member states if a withdrawal agreement is not ratified. The European commission has suggested member states should take a “generous” approach, but apart from Ireland none of the EU member states are said by citizens groups to be offering terms on a par with the approach taken by the British government.

In the event of a no-deal exit, the estimated 3.6 million EU citizens who reside in the UK would have until the end of 2020 to register for settled status through a free online application in which they need to prove only their identity and that they live in the UK, and declare any criminal convictions.

Despite the repeated calls by the European parliament for the UK to improve its offer, many of the estimated 1.2 million British nationals living in the other 27 EU member states would be in significantly worse situations.

• The 8,500 British citizens living in Austria face paying €210 for a residence permit or €195 for each child up to the age of six. France would charge €119. Some member states, including Germany, are yet to decide on the size of the fee.
• Retired or otherwise non-economically active people who have lived in France for less than five years would have to apply each year for a visitor card costing €269, leaving those who are new to the country with a potential cost of more than €1,000. Self-employed Britons would need to show they have sufficient resources for their family, with a couple with two children required to provide evidence of an income of around €1,175 a month.
• Denmark is yet to make a permanent offer for those seeking to stay beyond a “temporary transitional period” up to the end of 2019.
• Two thousand Britons living in Poland who apply for long-term residency permits would have to prove they have not spent more than 10 months outside Poland in the last five years.
• Grace periods for late applications range from three months after Brexit day in Germany – although that initial proposal is set to be extended to nine months when finally legislated – to three years for those living in Hungary.
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The European Council will meet later this week (17-18 October). This meeting is particularly significant as it’s the last scheduled EU leaders’ meeting before the scheduled Brexit date of 31 October.

The Benn Act, passed by Parliament in September, places several requirements on the Government which also make this European Council meeting significant. This Insight sets out the different Brexit scenarios that could unfold following the meeting.

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