Britain is on the verge of historic Brexit blunder, warns country’s former foreign secretary Boris Johnson at DUP conference
- Prime minister of the UK is expected to approve the EU divorce deal on Sunday
Boris Johnson warned on Saturday that Britain was “on the verge of making a historic mistake”, as Theresa May arrived in Brussels to sign a Brexit deal that cabinet ministers believe will soon be blocked by parliament.
The prime minister is expected to approve the deal on Sunday despite growing certainty among allies and critics alike that she has insufficient support among MPs. She also faces a threat from the DUP, the Northern Irish party propping up her government, which could pull the plug on its support unless there is a rethink of a deal that it has branded “pitiful and pathetic”.
On Saturday, as he sought to steel DUP resistance to the deal and to parry Downing Street’s attempt to woo the party’s 10 Westminster MPs, Johnson delivered a provocative address at the party’s conference in Belfast, filled with eclectic references ranging from bendy buses to Star Wars, Van Morrison, former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and the Titanic.
“If you read the withdrawal agreement, you can see that we are witnessing the birth of a new country called UK(NI) or Ukni,” the former foreign secretary said. “Ukni is no longer exclusively ruled by London or Stormont. Ukni is in large part to be ruled by Brussels.”
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