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Boris Johnson slams Theresa May's Brexit deal as 'dead', explains silence on girlfriend 'row'

25 June 2019 13:18 (UTC +04:00)

The leading Tory candidate to replace outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May announced earlier this month that he is determined to negotiate more favourable terms for the UK to leave the EU in case he assumes office, APA reports citing Sputnik.

Speaking with the BBC, UK prime minister hopeful Boris Johnson said that would need to cooperate with the European Union to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland or steep trade tariffs in the event of a no-deal scenario.

At the same time, he said that he did "not believe for a moment" that the UK would pull out without a deal, even though he was willing to do so.

The bookies' favourite suggested that there were "abundant, abundant technical fixes" that could be made to avoid border checks and break the Irish backstop stalemate, but admitted that there's "no single magic bullet" to solve the pressing issue.

Johnson said that the withdrawal deal negotiated by departing Prime Minister Theresa May that had been rejected three times by UK MPs is "dead". He, however, added that it was still possible to seal a new agreement with the bloc before the new deadline of 31 October.

"I think actually that politics has changed so much since 29 March. I think on both sides of the Channel there's a really different understanding of what is needed", he said, referring to the original Brexit deadline.

The former London mayor insisted that if he was elected he would initiate a new round of talks with Brussels as soon as he reached No. 10 to discuss a free trade agreement. Johnson likewise suggested EU officials might change their stance on renegotiation because they have Brexit Party MEPs they do not want in the European Parliament.

He also said that the EU wants to get the £39 billion divorce payment, which he previously vowed to withhold unless the bloc agreed a better deal.

While Johnson was open about his political plans, he remained tight-lipped about his private life when he was asked about widespread rumours that he had an explosive row with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds over the weekend.

"I do not talk about stuff involving my family, my loved ones. And there's a very good reason for that. That is that, if you do, you drag them into things that really is... not fair on them", he replied, adding that the public actually wants to know, "what is going on with his guy? Does he, when it comes to trust when it comes to character, all those things, does he deliver what he says he's going to deliver?"