Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Johnson promises 'compromise' Brexit offer to Brussels

PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson said he would submit "compromise" plans for a Brexit agreement to Brussels on Wednesday (2) but again warned that Britain was prepared to leave the European Union later this month without a deal, despite fears it could herald an economic slump.

In his closing speech to his Conservative party's annual conference, Johnson said the plans would address the contentious issue of how to keep open Britain's border with Ireland.


"This is a compromise by the UK," he told delegates in the northwestern city of Manchester, adding that he hoped EU leaders "understand that and compromise in their turn".

But he emphasised that if they did not, Britain would still leave the EU on October 31.

A no-deal exit "is not an outcome we seek at all. But let me tell you my friends it is an outcome for which we are ready", he said, to big cheers from delegates.

Johnson is expected to speak to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker later on Wednesday to discuss the revised offer.

The Confederation of British Industry said a no-deal would be "a historic failure of statecraft" which would dog growth and trade "for years to come".

Johnson, a leading "leave" campaigner in the 2016 EU referendum, took office in July vowing to deliver Brexit at the end of this month in all circumstances.

But like his predecessor Theresa May, he has struggled against a hostile parliament and the complexities of untangling four decades of EU integration.

His promise to leave without a deal was derailed when MPs last month passed a law demanding he seek to delay Brexit if he has not reached an agreement by an EU summit on October 17.

Johnson is now racing to renegotiate the exit terms May agreed with Brussels, which were rejected by the British parliament three times.

His proposals focus on finding an alternative to her controversial "backstop" plan, which aims to keep an open border between British Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland after Brexit.

The current arrangement would keep Britain in an effective customs union with the EU, which critics argued would force London to abide by the bloc's rules indefinitely.

Johnson said his plan would "under no circumstances have checks at or near the border in Northern Ireland".

It would seek to protect cross-border agricultural trade by extending existing regulatory arrangements - indicating Northern Ireland will continue following some EU rules.

But the province will remain part of the same customs territory as mainland Britain, he said.

"We will allow the UK - whole and entire - to withdraw from the EU, with control of our own trade policy from the start," he said.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported the plan would potentially create two new borders -- regulatory checks between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland along the Irish Sea, and customs checks on the island of Ireland.

It added that Johnson wanted to keep this arrangement until 2025, when the devolved assembly in Belfast would be able to decide how to proceed.

But the EU has warned many times it will not accept any attempt to put a time limit on the border plan.

Juncker's spokeswoman said Brussels has yet to see the legal text of the plan. But she warned that any deal must meet "all the objectives" of the existing backstop arrangement.

The British government's Brexit negotiator, David Frost, is in Brussels and will hold "technical talks" with his EU counterparts later in the day.

Johnson on Tuesday denied a media report that he was looking at installing customs posts along the Irish border, amid outrage from Dublin.

The removal of border posts was seen as key to bringing peace to Northern Ireland after three decades of violence over British rule that left thousands dead.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney said he had not seen the plans in detail yet, but said the initial reports suggested "it's not good news".

"We don't believe that customs checks on the island of Ireland will be the basis of an agreement between the EU and the UK," he told Ireland's RTE broadcaster.

May twice delayed Brexit as she tried and failed to push her deal through the House of Commons.

Johnson has also faced significant opposition among MPs and lost his wafer-thin Commons majority during a rebellion over his EU strategy earlier this month.

Yet even after being slapped down last week by Britain's Supreme Court for unlawfully trying to suspend parliament, Johnson still insists he will never ask for a delay.

AFP

More For You

US Congressman condemns attacks on Hindu temples

Suhas Subramanyam speaks during the House Oversight And Government Reform Committee meeting at the US Capitol on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

US Congressman condemns attacks on Hindu temples

INDIAN AMERICAN Congressman Suhas Subramanyam has strongly condemned recent attacks on Hindu temples across the US, saying that every American should be able to practise their faith without fear.

Speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, Subramanyam said: “Hate has no place in our communities, and that’s why I condemn the recent hateful attacks on Hindu temples and mandirs all across the country.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Charlie Kirk assassination: Manhunt, misinformation and a country unravelling

Charlie Kirk shot dead at Utah Valley University

Getty Images

Charlie Kirk assassination: Manhunt, misinformation and a country unravelling

Highlights:

  • Charlie Kirk, 31, shot dead at Utah Valley University during a student event; shooter still at large.
  • FBI falsely announced an arrest, later retracting the claim, raising questions about investigation handling.
  • Retired Canadian Michael Mallinson wrongly accused online as the shooter; misinformation spread rapidly on social media.
  • Security at the event was minimal, with no bag checks.

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a student event at Utah Valley University has left the nation shaken and investigators scrambling. The 31-year-old was fatally shot in the neck while answering questions under a campus tent, in what officials are calling a sniper-style attack. The shooter remains at large, and the aftermath has exposed investigative missteps, rampant misinformation, and a dangerous level of political vitriol that threatens to push an already polarised America closer to the edge.

Charlie Kirk shot dead at Utah Valley University Getty Images

Keep ReadingShow less
Prince Harry meets King after 20 months to heal rift

Prince Harry visits the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London, in London, Britain, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

Prince Harry meets King after 20 months to heal rift

PRINCE HARRY had tea with King Charles on Wednesday (10) at their first meeting in 20 months, in what may prove a first step toward ending a much-publicised rift between father and son.

Harry, the Duke of Sussex, last saw his father in February 2024, shortly after it was announced that the king was undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer.

Keep ReadingShow less
South Asian WW2 veterans

The commemoration event honoured two South Asian WW2 veterans who died this year, Havildar Major Rajindar Singh Dhatt MBE and Sergeant Mohammad Hussain.

X/@britishfuture

South Asian WW2 veterans honoured at London commemoration

TWO South Asian Second World War veterans were honoured at a commemoration event in London on Wednesday, September 10. The ceremony paid tribute to Havildar Major Rajindar Singh Dhatt MBE and Sergeant Mohammad Hussain, who both died this year.

The event, hosted by British Future and Eastern Eye with support from the Royal British Legion, also launched My Family Legacy, a project to raise awareness of South Asian contributions in the world wars and preserve family stories for future generations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Phillipson, Powell in two-way Labour deputy leadership race

Bridget Phillipson (L), Lucy Powell (Photo: Getty Images)

Phillipson, Powell in two-way Labour deputy leadership race

IT WILL be a two-way contest between education secretary Bridget Phillipson and former Commons leader Lucy Powell for the post of Labour’s deputy leader after Emily Thornberry and Paula Barker withdrew from the race on Thursday (11).

Thornberry, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, had secured 13 nominations from Labour MPs while Barker, the Liverpool Wavertree MP, had 14, well short of the 80 needed to progress.

Keep ReadingShow less