THE UK Government is to present the EU with a Brexit plan within days as moves to find a breakthrough on the issue of the Northern Ireland border backstop intensify.
Brussels will be offered a revised Brexit deal by the end of the week as Boris Johnson ramps up efforts to strike a fresh agreement.
But Dublin immediately dismissed the proposals out of hand as “utterly unworkable”.
It is suggested the Prime Minister will, as part of the proposed deal, ask the EU to rule out any further extension to Article 50. If Brussels were to agree to Britain’s offer, it would then be presented to MPs as a straightforward choice: between consenting to the new proposed agreement or seeing the country crash out of the EU by Hallowe’en.
It is understood the legal text of a Brexit plan will be sent to Brussels after the Tory conference concludes tomorrow afternoon.
The move comes as Irish broadcaster RTE reported the UK had put forward the idea of “custom clearance centres” being set up five to ten miles either side of the Irish border.
However, Government sources distanced themselves from parts of the reports.
The reported plans by the Government to create customs posts along both sides of the Irish border to replace the backstop were swiftly dismissed by Simon Coveney, the Irish deputy premier.
The idea for the customs posts are contained in the so-called 'non-papers' submitted by UK officials during recent technical discussions.
READ MORE: Letters: Risk of UK being ungovernable could cause indy vote switch
But Mr Coveney poured cold water on the plans, saying Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland "deserves better."
He tweeted: "Non-Paper = Non-Starter. Time the EU had a serious proposal from the UK Govt if a #Brexit deal is to be achievable in October. NI and IRE deserves better!"
Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: "If Boris Johnson had spent any time listening to businesses and communities in Northern Ireland, he would know that these proposals are utterly unworkable."
The comments came after the Prime Minister said he remained "cautiously optimistic" about the prospect of a deal despite the limited time available ahead of the scheduled October 31 withdrawal date.
He said the UK side had made some "pretty big moves" towards a deal but it was up to Brussels to respond to find the right "landing zone".
The moves came as it was revealed Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, warned criminals "we are coming after you" as the latest sign of the Tories seeking to burnish their credentials as the party of law and order ahead of an expected election.
To this end, Robert Buckland, the Justice Secretary, will say today in his keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester that sexual and violent offenders south of the border would be kept behind bars for longer.
He will confirm he will end the system which sees some of the most serious offenders released after serving just half their sentence.
As the countdown to the Brexit deadline of October 31 continued, the PM insisted the UK would quit the EU on that date "whatever happens".
He said: "I'm cautiously optimistic. We have made some pretty big moves, we are waiting to see whether our European friends will help us and whether we can find the right landing zone.
"But whatever happens, we'll come out on October 31."
It was also suggested the Government was ready to suggest the creation of an all-Ireland economic zone allowing agricultural and food products to move between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic without checks at the border.
Chancellor Sajid Javid said he thought he knew how the PM intended to achieve the October 31 withdrawal despite the restrictions of the Benn Act, which would push Brexit Day back to January 31.
The law was rushed through Parliament to require the Prime Minister to seek a delay to Brexit if a deal has not been agreed by October 19, or if MPs have not agreed to leave the EU without one.
READ MORE: Scottish Conservatives back vote after Alex Salmond trial
But there have been suspicions in pro-EU circles that the PM will try to avoid complying with the requirements.
The Chancellor told the BBC: "Of course, every government should observe all laws at all times. We're taking a careful look at that law."
He said there could be no more "dither and delay and we will leave if we have to without a deal on October 31".
"The intention of the law is clear and I do think it has absolutely made it harder for the Government to get the deal that we all want to see. That said, it can still be done.
"It's not about getting around the law. I don't really want to discuss the detail of this law, it's a pretty fresh new law, but we are also clear at all times we, of course, like any government, we will absolutely observe the law."
The Chancellor said he was not sure how much a no-deal Brexit would cost the economy in the short term.
"I don't think anyone really knows a full, proper answer to that question. And I have never pretended that if you leave without a deal it won't be challenging."
Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly heavily hinted the Government believed there was a way of wriggling out of the Benn Act.
He told a Politico fringe event in Manchester on Monday evening: "Legislation passed in a rush tends to be bad legislation."
He refused to say how the Government could get around the legislation, adding: "What we've seen is parties distorting the parliamentary process, breaking conventions, taking a very creative interpretation of parliamentary procedures to prevent the Government discharging a promise the Prime Minister made and indeed a promise that all parties made at the referendum.
"And I'm not going to help them by showing them our homework."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel