Former Irish PM: It's 'very likely' Brexit talks will fail

Former Irish prime minister John Bruton has said there is a “very strong likelihood” Brexit talks will fail.

Mr Bruton, in an exclusive interview with the Evening Standard, said the talks are likely to fall down because of time pressure, Tory party splits and a lack of negotiating skill. “I think there’s a very strong likelihood of no deal because of the lack of preparation and the blowing away of time,” he said.

He was particularly critical of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, hinting that he is unqualified for the job.

Mr Bruton said: “Unfortunately, you have a government in which the Foreign Secretary — who should be an authoritative figure, in terms of understanding the needs of other countries — has set forth red lines that, quite literally, make any deal completely impossible. And yet he continues to be Her Majesty’s Foreign Secretary.”

A fifth round of Brexit talks were winding up today with little progress made on the three main divorce issues of citizens, money and Ireland.

EU leaders meet next week, where they are likely to say that not enough has been done to move talks on to a transition period or future trade deal, delaying a decision until December.

But Mr Bruton, who is also a former EU ambassador to the US, said the UK Government is ill-prepared for trade talks and that Tory divisions make it incapable of moving forward.

He said: “Even if the UK were to be allowed to move on to the trade negotiation, they don’t have a worked-up proposal… I have serious doubts about whether the current UK Government is able to come forward with a proposal on the future relationship without splitting fatally.”

He said the only solution is to extend negotiations to 2023 — which would require unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 other leaders under article 50 of the EU treaty.

He added: “Because the UK is not ready to compromise, it is not ready to make the sort of decisions that need to be made… They seem to be wanting to get as much of their cake as they can, and eating as much of it at the same time as having it.”