Varadkar warns Johnson no-deal Brexit will still require EU talks later

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Monday warned his British counterpart Boris Johnson that a no-deal Brexit would still require him to negotiate an agreement on the future relationship with the EU.

In their first meeting since Johnson took over the UK premiership, Johnson appeared to modify his recent bellicose language of last week, saying he “overwhelmingly” would prefer a deal.

The two men agreed they would not achieve a breakthrough at their hour-long meeting but Johnson was confident the Irish border backstop could be replaced – although once again he failed to provide any specifics.

He refused to say when he last visited the Northern Irish border and was evasive when asked to give an example of the “abundance of ideas” for alternatives to the backstop.

“Like you, I’ve looked carefully at no deal and I’ve assessed its consequences,” Johnson said at a joint news conference.

“Be in no doubt, that outcome would be a failure of statecraft of which we would all be responsible. I would overwhelmingly prefer a solution.”

However, Varadkar said in advance of the meeting that Johnson's insistence that the backstop, the insurance policy to prevent a hard border with Northern Ireland, be replaced without any real alternatives.

"In the absence of agreed alternative arrangements, no backstop is no deal for us."

Varadkar said a no-deal scenario would “kick the can down the road for another 14 months; another 14 months of uncertainty for business, another 14 months of uncertainty for people north and south of the border. So that's not an option that we find attractive at all".

"In my view, the story of Brexit won't end if the United Kingdom ends the European Union on October 31 or even January 31," he said. "There's no such thing as a clean break or just getting it done. Rather we'll just move on to a new phase."

Johnson has ruled out asking the EU to delay the Brexit deadline of 31 October, although the Irish government has said it would support another extension. On Monday Downing Street confirmed that parliament would be suspended tonight in a move that has been seen as part of Johnson's plan to stifle debate on a no-deal Brexit.