Boris Johnson compares Theresa May’s ‘humiliating’ Brexit deal to TITANIC and calls on UK not to pay £39billion divorce bill

BORIS Johnson has compared Theresa May's "humiliating" Brexit deal to the Titanic and called on the UK not to pay the £39billion divorce bill.

Speaking at a DUP conference, the rogue Tory MP said half the bill should be withheld until after a free trade deal was settled in 2020.

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The Titanic comparison began as a quip from Johnson about Northern Ireland remaining under EU regulations with May's deal - including regulations around boats.

He joked that "no country has a more illustrious history of recreational water craft" and "the Titanic springs to mind".

He said: “Now is the time to point out the iceberg ahead."

Speaking after Johnson, DUP leader Arlene Foster called on May to scrap her plan and keep slugging away for something better.

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She said the choice over Brexit was "not between this deal and no deal" and the opportunity remained "to look beyond this current draft withdrawal agreement and work in the time ahead for an improved outcome"

The Belfast speech came as the Prime Minister works to have her deal passed by EU leaders in Brussels.

Chancellor Philip Hammond directly contradicted Foster, warning the rejection of Theresa May's Brexit deal will lead to "economic chaos".

He said: "If the meaningful vote is lost we are in uncharted territory."

"We will be faced with potential economic chaos. I am sure we would get a very negative reaction from the business community, from investors, from the markets."

He added "we might end up with no deal, we might end up with no Brexit" if the Withdrawal Agreement is blocked by Parliament.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had threatened to boycott the European Council meeting without further guarantees for Madrid over the status of Gibraltar.

But a crisis was averted after a clarification about the position and emergency talks between Mr Sanchez, Mr Tusk and Mr Juncker.

A letter from the UK's ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow confirmed the Withdrawal Agreement imposes no obligations regarding the "territorial scope" of future agreements.

It also made clear the UK would negotiate future agreements on behalf of all territories for whose external relations it is responsible - including Gibraltar.

European Council president Donald Tusk also backed May's plan – despite saying "no one is happy".

Johnson had an additional warning in his speech - and claimed Britain would become a "satellite state" of the EU unless it "junks" May's plan.

Johnson accused EU leaders of pulling a "clever trick" by making Northern Ireland an "indispensable bargaining chip".

He said: "We are on the verge of making a historic mistake."

“We are actually witnessing the birth of a new country called UK-NI or Ukni.”

“Ukni is in large part to be ruled by Brussels.”

Unless the UK changed could it would remain in the customs union, the single market, and would become a nation of "rule takers", Johnson said.

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If the UK wanted to pursue free trade deals, cut tariffs, or dictate their own regulation they would have to leave Northern Ireland behind, and the country would become “an economic semi-colony of the EU”.

Johnson said the current backstop measure would encourage the EU to push for further concessions in future negotiations - including on immigration.

He said: “We do need to junk the backstop and agree that neither side will introduce a hard border in Northern Ireland."

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Johnson pushed again for a so-called super-Canada free trade agreement.

He called for a Secretary of State of the UK in case of a no-deal scenario, which he said needed to be "a department with real powers across Whitehall to make things happen.”

Brits would "rumble" that the current withdrawal agreement was not a true Brexit, and Johnson said pursuing it was “the surest way of getting elector revenge and a Corbyn government.”

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Johnson was was welcomed with open arms - and even a kiss from DUP leader Arlene Foster - as he arrived at the conference today.

The welcome came on the same day Foster was reported as saying Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal would be worse than having Corbyn in No. 10.

The Times reported Foster had warned the PM she could not count on the party's 10 MPs to save her from a no confidence vote in parliament.

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Corbyn in power may not be a pleasant idea to the leader, but the current deal and its potential to separate Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK would be worse.

The separation could lead many to look to The Republic of Ireland for representation in Europe.

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During her speech directly after Johnson, Foster said the benefits of remaining part of the UK were “far more important than our membership with the European union".

She said: "We could not support proposals that allowed divergence of regulation or borders between UK and Northern Ireland."

The withdrawal agreement will still have to return to parliament for a final vote here before it comes into effect.

The conference is taking place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast.

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