Brexit news: PM to tell Ireland 'NOTHING is agreed' on terms of Brexit
The Prime Minister is to strike an optimistic tone when she updates MPs this afternoon after reaching a last minute agreement with EU bosses on key divorce issues. But she is expected to reiterate the draft terms do not commit the UK to anything until the final deal is signed and sealed. Her comments will come a day after remarks from David Davis were met with a fierce backlash from officials in Ireland. The Brexit Secretary said the last-minute deal reached on Friday outlining Britain’s divorce terms was “more a statement of intent” than a “legally enforceable thing”.
REUTERS Brexit news: Officials in Ireland have suggested UK's draft Brexit terms are binding
This, as far as we're concerned, is a binding agreement, an agreement in principle Joe McHugh
But this was blasted as “bizarre” by Irish government chief whip, Joe McHugh, who questioned the point of the agreement if it was not binding. He told RTE: "We will as a government, a sovereign government in Ireland, be holding the United Kingdom to account, as will the European Union. "My question to anybody within the British Government would be, why would there be an agreement, a set of principled agreements, in order to get to phase two, if they weren't going to be held up? “That just sounds bizarre to me.
GETTY/BBC Brexit Secretary Mr Davis insisted the draft terms are not enforceable
"This, as far as we're concerned, is a binding agreement, an agreement in principle." UK and EU negotiators reached an agreement on the so-called divorce bill, citizens’ rights post-Brexit and the Irish border on Friday. The Government has yet to reveal the final figure for the bill, though it is believed to be in the region of £39bn. But during an interview on The Andrew Marr Show yesterday, Brexit Secretary Mr Davis said Britain would not need to pay a penny if a trade deal with the bloc cannot be reached.