EU is at war over No Deal Brexit: As Emmanuel Macron plays hardball, Ireland warns of 'very, very costly' failure to strike a trade agreement... and even Angela Merkel is not on board

Emmanuel Macron is facing pressure from EU leaders to back down on Brexit.

British officials claim the French president derailed progress last week by forcing EU negotiator Michel Barnier to toughen his stance at the last minute.

But with time running out European leaders warned it was vital to strike a trade agreement.

Emmanuel Macron is facing pressure from EU leaders to back down on Brexit as talks continue

Angela Merkel does not endorse France's hardline stance on state aid, workers' rights and environmental standards

Ireland's premier, Micheal Martin, said he felt a deal would be reached because the alternative would be 'damaging to all concerned'.

The country's foreign minister, Simon Coveney, said any other outcome made 'no sense' for either side.

Mr Coveney, whose country faces the most severe repercussions from No Deal, said failure would be 'very, very costly and very, very disruptive'.

He added: 'That, in the context of a post-Covid world which is hugely challenging economically for everybody, doesn't make any political sense and it certainly doesn't make any economic or social sense either.

'For all of those reasons, I think the negotiating teams and senior politicians will find a way of getting a deal here, but at the moment we are in a difficult place as we try to close it out.'

Ireland's premier, Micheal Martin, said he felt a deal would be reached because the alternative would be 'damaging to all concerned'

France's Europe minister yesterday acknowledged that some other EU leaders – including Germany's Angela Merkel – did not endorse France's hardline stance on state aid, workers' rights and environmental standards.

In an interview with Journal du Dimanche, Clement Beaune said: 'There are different sensitivities across the 27 EU countries. It would be naive to deny it. But the negotiating mandate is detailed and we are sticking to it.

'As for Chancellor Merkel, she wants a deal, but she also defends our demands – and she knows the European market well enough to guess how the German economy would suffer from a bad deal. In short, the British gamble on trying to divide the EU has failed.'

On Friday, Mr Beaune warned that President Macron was ready to veto a deal if it fell short of French demands.

But yesterday he said France was willing to contemplate the UK being free to diverge from EU standards – provided Brussels is able to take 'corrective measures' if the differences become too great.

Sovereign Britain could ban fur 

Fur sales could be banned from next year when the Brexit transition period ends, the Environment Secretary said yesterday.

George Eustice said he was ‘looking at’ plans to become one of the first countries in the world to bring in the ban.

The issue is close to the heart of Boris Johnson’s fiancée Carrie Symonds and has been championed by Tory peer Zac Goldsmith, an environment minister.

The UK was the first country in Europe to ban fur farming in 2000, but sales of some furs are still legal here and across the EU.

Once the UK leaves the single market, it will be able to unilaterally ban them.

‘We’re looking at a number of issues in the animal welfare sphere. Yes, fur is one area,’ Mr Eustice told Times Radio.

The British Fur Alliance said it will fight any move on a ban, arguing that natural fur is an antidote to fast fashion and, if ethically sourced, should not be prohibited. 

'The British want access to the single European market without constraints for their social, environmental or health standards, which is unacceptable,' he said. 'For our part, we are ready to put in place a system in which a divergence of standards would be allowed but beyond which corrective measures would be taken.

'The British tell us that this is unfair because other 'third countries' do not have these same constraints, such as Canada. But we have to realise that the UK will be our major trading partner outside the EU tomorrow. There is ten times as much trade between the EU and UK than with Canada.'

France has some support from other coastal states, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, which are also concerned about their domestic fishing industries.

But other member states, led by Germany, are anxious to avoid a destabilising No Deal outcome at a time when the continent is already facing a double-dip recession as a result of the pandemic.

In a further sign of EU tensions, the Netherlands last night suggested it was ready to compromise on fishing rights. 

But government sources said the Prime Minister would not accept Mr Macron's demands on the so-called level playing field, where he is pushing for Brussels to have the power to impose immediate tariffs if the UK moves too far from EU regulations in future.

Gavin Barwell, who was Downing Street chief of staff during Theresa May's premiership, said: 'Some in the EU think the UK will be forced back to the negotiating table.

'But there is a real danger that if we don't get a deal now we will have significant damage to the relationship which takes some time to put right.'

Mr Barnier is to brief EU ambassadors this morning after trade talks reopened last night.

By Claire Ellicott Political Correspondent for the Daily Mail 

Sir Keir Starmer came under pressure from Labour's biggest union backer last night to support a Brexit deal if an agreement is reached.

Unite boss Len McCluskey warned him not to sit on the fence – but Labour frontbenchers yesterday kept to the party line, refusing to rule out abstaining on a future vote on a Brexit deal.

Sir Keir has a difficult task in uniting his party's hard core of Remainers with the Labour heartlands in the North which backed Brexit and switched to the Tories in the last election.

Unite boss Len McCluskey warned Sir Keir Starmer not to sit on the fence in the upcoming Brexit vote

Sir Keir has a difficult task in uniting his party's hard core of Remainers with the Labour heartlands in the North

Strewth! PM's Rolf Harris hint 

Boris Johnson has taken to singing 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport' in an apparent hint he is ready to embrace an Australian-style No Deal Brexit.

Downing Street insiders say the Prime Minister has been heard to sing the chorus of the Rolf Harris hit when asked about Brexit talks.

Yesterday it emerged he was overheard singing 'Waltzing Matilda' last week after being warned the negotiations had taken a turn for the worse. The songs are thought to be light-hearted references to an 'Australian-style' arrangement, which is now government code for No Deal. That term has been banned due to negative connotations among some voters.

Instead the PM has spoken about an 'Australian-style deal' – although the country has no free trade pact with the EU. Instead, it trades using World Trade Organisation terms – but is seeking a deal with Brussels.

Mr McCluskey yesterday said it would be 'completely wrong' for Labour not to vote one way or the other as Brexit was the 'most important issue of the day'.

Football pundit Gary Neville also weighed in, accusing the party of 'sitting in the stands' by abstaining over the tier system last week.

Mr McCluskey said Sir Keir needs to 'win the trust of the Red Wall seats' which switched to the Tories in the North.

He said the Labour leader should not be seen to be 'standing in the way' of what the Red Wall voted for but should oppose any deal that is not good enough.

'On the other hand if it's a thin deal – which I suspect it will be, if indeed we get a deal – he needs to also be in a position in six months if things are going wrong to be able to attack the Government without then being regarded a hypocrite because he voted for the deal,' Mr McCluskey told Times Radio. Pressed on the issue of Labour voting for a deal, Mr McCluskey replied: 'Yes, in my opinion let's get Brexit done and out the way, it won't stop us being critical if indeed the deal gives us all kinds of issues and problems going forward.'

Sir Keir's position is to wait to see what Brexit deal Boris Johnson negotiates – a stance his frontbenchers echoed yesterday, as they refused to rule out abstaining on a vote.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves said 'let's see' when asked whether Labour would back any future Brexit deal.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, shadow home secretary, said it would be 'responsible' for the party to consider any deal agreed.