Johnson to table new Brexit plan very soon

(Manchester) – Britain will table new proposals on a Brexit deal ‘very soon’, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, while distancing himself from a leaked plan about the Irish border.

“We are going to make a very good offer. We will be tabling it formally very soon,” Johnson told BBC television from Manchester, where his Conservative party’s conference is underway.

Versions of his long-awaited proposal reported in UK and Irish media suggest he wants checks on goods conducted away from the Irish border, while food and agricultural products are waved through.

The reported plan is designed to keep the border between EU member Ireland and Britain’s Northern Ireland free-flowing after Brexit, which is now scheduled for October 31.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney called the reported plan a ‘non-starter’.

“Time the EU had a serious proposal from the UK Govt if a #Brexit deal is to be achievable in October,” Coveney tweeted, saying Northern Ireland and his own country ‘deserves better!’