Brexit: "dangerous" British government intends not to force agreement, says Sturgeon | Policy

Boris Johnson was accused by Nicola Sturgeon of deliberately pushing the UK to a Brexit without agreement, despite his "bluffing and blustering" about wanting an agreement with European leaders.

After meeting Johnson face to face in Edinburgh, the Scottish Prime Minister said he believed he was pursuing an uncompromising "dangerous" strategy with European leaders, with the likely outcome of a Brexit without agreement.

During the chaos day on the new prime minister's strategy for Brexit, she accused Scottish journalists that one should not badume the possibility of leaving the EU without an agreement on 31 October.

This was in direct contradiction to remarks made earlier in the day by his own deputy official spokesperson and by an article published Sunday by his cabinet minister, Michael Gove, that the government "was working on the badumption" that European leaders would not change their minds. and was therefore seriously preparing for a Brexit without agreement as his first priority.

The Prime Minister also said that he was reaching out to European leaders in order to reach an agreement, even though his spokesman said he would not sit down with his counterparts before 39, having agreed to give up Irish support.

Addressing reporters immediately after Johnson's departure from his official residence in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said, "This government is pursuing a strategy of no agreement, even if it can publicly deny it.

"Behind the bluff and the bluster, it's a government that's dangerous. The path she pursues is dangerous for Scotland, but for the whole of the United Kingdom. He says he wants an agreement with the EU, but he absolutely does not know how he thinks he can move from the position where he takes a very hard line … to an agreement. "

Entering the meeting at Bute House on Monday afternoon, he was greeted by a crowd of pro-independence and anti-Brexit protesters. He chose to leave after the meeting for one hour, through a back entrance.

Throughout his leadership campaign, Johnson was criticized for appearing to promise different things to different people, with moderate Tory supporters being convinced that he was going to reach an agreement and uncompromising Eurosceptics longing for the prospect. of a Brexit without agreement.

During the campaign, he stated that the odds of a non-agreement were "one million", but he also committed to pulling the UK out of the EU on 31 October "death or death".

Prior to her visit, Scottish Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson had warned Johnson of his inability to subscribe to his plan for a Brexit without agreement. But she said her meeting with him in Edinburgh on Monday afternoon was "incredibly constructive" and they talked about "the need to make sure we can get agreement on the other side of the line".

Johnson praised his praise before the meeting, saying he was "with Ruth to avoid a Brexit without agreement" and describing her as a "fantastic leader."

Davidson did not hide his reservations about the new prime minister and Johnson exasperated him last week by firing his ally David Mundell as Scottish secretary, against his advice. But after the meeting, Davidson said she "wholeheartedly supported" the Prime Minister's strategy regarding Brexit.

During his visit to the Faslane military base earlier, Johnson insisted that he "badumed we could get a new deal" and stated that he was reaching out to the leaders of the company. EU to see if an agreement could be reached.

"The backstop is not good. It's dead. We have to go. The withdrawal agreement is dead, you have to go. But it is possible to conclude a new agreement, "he said.

He argued that his approach was "very open to the world and that he did not want the UK to be out of the way or out of the way, I want us to commit ourselves, hand, that we travel thousands of extra miles' to reach an agreement. EU leaders.

The official deputy spokesperson of her party said that the British government badumed that the United Kingdom was heading for a Brexit without agreement on 31 October, unless European leaders change their minds about the reopening of the withdrawal agreement.

"I think it's been clear on the fact that the safety net needs to be removed," she said. "He remains confident that the EU will stop claiming that the withdrawal agreement can not be changed. But until that happens, we must badume that there will be no Brexit without agreement on October 31st. "

She went on to say that Johnson would not respond to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's invitation and that French President Emmanuel Macron would not be ready to acknowledge that Irish support needed to be replaced.

It also appeared that Johnson had just planned a call with Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach, which is at the center of any EU decision on the safety net.

According to the Irish authorities, the fact that he has been slow in contacting Varadkar, the Irish Prime Minister, is indicative of the reluctance to engage in serious talks. Varadkar is adamant: the backstop must stay to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland and preserve the integrity of the single market.

Sturgeon said she did not know if Johnson's lack of clarity was part of a deliberate approach, but added, "I think it's more likely that he does not know the answer. I think he wants a Brexit without agreement. By taking the hard line [that he will not negotiate unless the backstop is removed]I do not see how you could conclude anything other than his desire not to negotiate or that he is rather relaxed in the face of a Brexit without a contract. "

Sturgeon said she had not gleaned clarity on her plans to meet with other EU leaders. "The only strategy you can get from him is that he thinks the EU will smash his eyes. But the EU has been very consistent in its position. It is very united and if you base all your strategy on the belief that it will suddenly change, then you are doomed to failure or to a strategy doomed to failure because you actually want it. alternative that is a Brexit without compromise. "

Sturgeon said the one – hour meeting had involved a "lively exchange of views" on independence.

Asked about the prospect of a second vote for independence while he was at Faslane, Johnson refused to categorically declare that he would block a second vote, but reaffirmed his position according to which the vote of 2014 had been "a consultation of the people once in a generation," adding: "Public confidence in politicians would be even more shaken if we came back on it."

Sturgeon, who has already introduced a bill to allow a second referendum, said she would consider this summer speeding up the draft framework law and discussing it with the MSP once Holyrood will be meeting again after the summer holidays.