Brexit: Dominic Raab accuses Leo Varadkar of ‘leaking’ private conversation on backstop

Giving evidence at the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster, the prominent Brexiteer clashed with Armagh-born Labour MP Conor McGinn over the details of a private meeting that took place last year between the then-Brexit secretary and Tanaiste Simon Coveney.

It was reported by The Telegraph on November 5 that during the meeting, Mr Raab had demanded the right to pull the UK out of the backstop after three months.

But Mr Raab claimed that – despite Mr Coveney requesting that the content of the meeting be kept confidential – the taoiseach had directly divulged details to the media in a “misrepresentative and inaccurate way”.

He added: “Everyone within the UK government who knows the approach I have been suggesting in relation to an exit mechanism (from the backstop) knows that is not what I have argued for within the UK government, let alone with our Irish friends.”

Mr Raab also said he did not know what Mr Varadkar’s motivation for leaking the conversation may have been.

Mr McGinn said the former minister’s remarks were a “very serious accusation to make towards another government”, to which Mr Raab replied: “I am just telling you the facts.”

Mr Raab – who resigned as Brexit secretary in November in protest at Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement – appeared in front of the committee to give evidence on the implications of the backstop for Northern Ireland.

He accused Dublin of adopting a “trenchant line” on the issue and said London needed to find “a ladder for the Irish government to climb down”.

Referring to negotiations while he was Brexit secretary, he said: “What was clear to me in Dublin was that, politically, they were taking a very firm line on a deadline.

“We probably need to work with our Irish friends and partners in a way that not only deals with the practical operational issues, but is politically acceptable to them.

“They are in a very difficult position now because of the particularly strong political position that was taken by the taoiseach.”

He also claimed that some representatives in Dublin, Northern Ireland and in the European Commission saw the border issue as an opportunity to “control the UK after Brexit”.

“It was reported to me through diplomats that there were voices to that effect,” he said.

Mr McGinn said that, in contract to the UK government, Dublin was “completely unified” in its approach to the backstop.

He put to Mr Raab: “You said a couple of weeks ago in the media that Simon Coveney had told you privately he was open to alternatives on the backstop, but that the taioseach had adopted a harder line. He said that is categorically untrue, so who are we to believe?”

Mr Raab replied: “I met with Simon Coveney twice. The fact that we had a conversation which I was asked to keep confidential and then was made public by the taoiseach and was factually inaccurate I think answers your question.”