Raab calls for flexibility from EU leaders ahead of Brexit summit

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has issued a call for flexibility from the remaining 27 EU states, on the eve of a crucial summit.

Theresa May will use Tuesday’s gathering in Salzburg, Austria, to make a direct pitch to fellow leaders to back her divisive Chequers proposals.

And Mr Raab said it was time for the “compromises” made by the UK to be “matched on the EU side”.

Brussels’ chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier was briefing ministers from EU governments on Tuesday on remaining issues in the divorce talks, including the Irish border, as well as the framework for the UK’s future relationship with the EU.

Meanwhile, a major review of EU migration was being published in London.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report is expected to pave the way for the Government to finally unveil proposals for post-Brexit immigration rules.

The informal gathering of EU leaders in Salzburg gives Mrs May an opportunity to make her case for Chequers directly to the other 27 leaders, ahead of the full-scale Brussels summit in October at which final agreement is due to be reached.

Mrs May’s short address over dinner is not expected to be followed by a full discussion, with the EU27 leaders due to talk about the way ahead for Brexit in her absence on Thursday.

Setting out the UK’s hopes, Mr Raab said: “We’ve made the compromises and we showed the ambition and we do need to see that matched on the EU side.

“So Salzburg is an informal EU summit but it will be an important milestone, a stepping stone if you like, to show that we’ve actually got the contours of agreement on principles to continue the final weeks of these negotiations and hammer out the details.”

Speaking to correspondents from European newspapers including Germany’s Die Welt, France’s Le Monde and the Irish Times, Mr Raab made clear the UK was looking for further movement from the EU on the Irish border.

He branded Mr Barnier’s “backstop” proposals – which would see Northern Ireland remain in the EU customs area – unworkable, because they would create a border in the Irish Sea and fail to respect the constitutional integrity of the UK.

“What I’m not going to do is to say that I would refuse to entertain any further proposals that the EU comes up with but they’ve got to be respecting the equities that we’ve set out,” he said.

But the Guardian quoted unnamed EU diplomats as saying that it was Britain which needed to make further compromise.

One told the paper that a “substantial change in the UK red lines” was required, while another said: “It seems the UK needs to have a ‘darkest hour’ moment before they will shift position. But they will have to shift their position.”

The Times reported that Mr Barnier was preparing to insist that any political declaration agreed with Mrs May on the future relationship cannot easily be unpicked by her successor.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has suggested any deal secured by Mrs May could be altered by a future leader.

But The Times reported that Mr Barnier’s deputy Sabine Weyand told EU ambassadors that Brussels needed “credible political promises” from the UK.

In a high-profile Panorama interview on Monday, Mrs May framed the decision facing the country as a choice between her deal or no deal.

But with large numbers of Tory hard Brexiteers openly rejecting the Chequers plan, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said the scene was set for a second referendum.

In a speech to his party’s conference in Brighton, Sir Vince was due to describe Brexit as an “erotic spasm” for hard-right Tories. And he said his party would “definitely” vote against Chequers when it comes to a vote in the Commons.

Sir Vince told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “If it is a bad deal, certainly we are going to vote it down and we’re certainly going to vote down no deal.

“Then the options start diminishing, and I think growing numbers of people – we are already seeing it from senior Labour people and a few Conservatives – will say that the only way forward is to take this back to the public and say: ‘Do you accept what Theresa May has negotiated or would you rather stay in the European Union?'”

Mr Raab insisted the Government would not “facilitate” a fresh EU poll and suggested that, with the UK due to withdraw on March 29, there is not enough time remaining to hold one.

“Even if that’s what people want to do, it’s difficult to see how it could be done in time, and we wouldn’t facilitate it,” he said.

“And I think actually in reality if we got to the situation where we had a deal and it was voted down … you would risk tripping up into the no-deal scenario because there would be such a tight timeframe.”

Pressure was building on Jeremy Corbyn to commit Labour to backing the People’s Vote campaign for a fresh referendum.

Labour MP David Lammy, MEP Clare Moody and GMB union general secretary Tim Roache will join party members, campaigners and activists in a march and rally as Labour’s conference begins in Liverpool on Sunday.

The party’s stance on Brexit is expected to be debated at the gathering and Mr Lammy said: “A People’s Vote is not only the right thing to do for jobs, public services and the future of our young people – it’s the best way to get a radical Labour government.”