DUP seeks assurances after PM’s aide hints at long Brexit delay

It comes after the UK’s chief negotiator Olly Robbins was overheard in a Brussels bar saying MPs will be given a last-minute choice between her reworked withdrawal agreement or extending talks with the EU.

He is reported to have said: “Extension is possible but if they (MPs) don’t vote for the deal then the extension is a long one.”

This is sure to alarm Brexiteers, as the prime minister has consistently said the UK is leaving the bloc on March 29, with or without a deal in place.

Significantly, Mr Robbins also made explosive remarks about the Irish border backstop, which DUP MP Jim Shannon described as “unsettling”.

In the conversation, overheard by an ITV reporter, Mr Robbins suggested the backstop – designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland – was initially conceived by the government as a “bridge” to the future relationship.

Such remarks will not sit well with Mrs May’s partners in government the DUP, as it appears to suggest the PM always envisaged keeping the UK in some form of customs union arrangement with the EU after Brexit.

DUP MP Jim Shannon said he was “unsettled” by the reports and said the party would be seeking clarity from the government.

“We need to know if these comments reflect the position of the government,” the Strangford MP told the News Letter.

“We need to have that assurance that Olly Robbins isn’t running the clock down.”

Asked how the DUP would react to being presented with the options of backing Mrs May’s deal or delaying Brexit, he replied: “We are not in the business of extending Article 50 to get more talks. Kicking the can down the road just suits Europe.”

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mrs May played down reports that she could force MPs to choose between backing her Brexit deal or accepting a delay to EU withdrawal.

The PM suggested MPs should not rely on “what someone said to someone else as overheard by someone else, in a bar”.

She added: “It is very clear the government’s position is the same. We triggered Article 50, that had a two-year time limit, that ends on the 29 March.

“We want to leave with a deal, and that’s what we are working for.”