Brexit may be delayed to avoid ‘no deal’: Hunt

Jeremy Hunt admitted that Article 50 may have to be extended to avoid the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal on March 29, earning him a rebuke from Downing Street even though his comments were technically correct.The foreign secretary conceded a delay might be necessary if an agreement with the EU was reached with days to spare before the March deadline – although the prime minister has consistently ruled out seeking any extension.Asked if a technical delay would be necessary, Hunt said: “That depends on how long this process takes. It is true that if we ended up approving a deal in the days before the March 29, then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation. But if we are able to make progress sooner, then that might not be necessary.” At a Downing Street briefing, when asked about Hunt’s remarks, the prime minister’s spokesman asserted: “The prime minister’s position on this is unchanged. We will be leaving on March 29.”The prime minister’s spokesman added that ministers were “absolutely determined” the Brexit deal be completed on time, which was why MPs had been told that the February half term recess will almost certainly be cancelled.Insiders suggested that the foreign secretary’s remarks were unhelpful, although they appeared to be accurate because there will come a point in March where it will no longer be possible to ratify a deal in time for the end of the month.Any Brexit deal has to be approved by MPs in a future meaningful vote, and ratified by the passing of a Withdrawal Agreement bill. There is no firm date for a second Brexit vote, although May is currently aiming for February 14 – but that could slip further.Downing Street estimates suggest that the ultimate deadline for striking a Brexit deal with the European Union could be as late as mid-March, which would be in line with Hunt’s comments about a deal being approved a day before.Whitehall sources say they believe the complex legislation could be got through parliament in around a fortnight, while some of the six other Brexit-related bills going through parliament could be delayed until after March 29.Speaking ahead of an informal summit with his EU27 counterparts in Romania, Hunt described the Brexit impasse as “a very challenging situation”. Hunt claimed changes to the withdrawal agreement could be made if the UK could allay Irish fears concerns about a possible hard border and those of the wider EU about the integrity of the single market.He said: “Provided we can meet these very reasonable concerns from our friends in Ireland about not having a hard border and concerns in the EU about access to the single market – provided we can do that, which I think we can, then I think there is a way through.” He played down the insistence in Dublin and Brussels that negotiations on the withdrawal agreement would not be reopened.Hunt said: “These are negotiations. People’s first reaction when you make some new proposal to break a deadlock is to say ‘no, no, no that’s completely impossible’, but in reality the EU said to us: tell us what parliament can unite behind – we’ve done that. Secondly, we will now put together some proposal that makes sure we don’t breach these two very important principles for the EU.”