Boris Johnson: No Irish Border Posts, But Customs Checks Needed

By Staff, Agencies

Britain is not proposing border posts along the frontier between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit, but there will need to be checks somewhere, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday.

Asked whether his government was proposing border posts located some distance from the boundary line itself, he said, "Absolutely not."

But he added, "In the end, a sovereign, united country must have a single customs territory. When the UK withdraws from the EU that must be the state of affairs that we have."

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald had said earlier Tuesday that a reported proposal from Britain to set up customs clearance centers on both sides of the Irish border was absolutely not acceptable as it represented a hardening of the frontier.

Irish national broadcaster RTE had reported that Britain was proposing to set up such customs posts on each side of the border. Asked if this was acceptable to the Irish nationalist party, McDonald told BBC Radio, "Absolutely not."

"What has been described ... is essentially the reintroduction of a hard border on the island of Ireland. It goes against all of the commitments that have been entered into by the British government."

Speaking to BBC television from Manchester, where his Conservative party's conference is underway, Johnson said that Britain will table new proposals on a Brexit deal "very soon."

"We are going to make a very good offer. We will be tabling it formally very soon," Johnson said.

Johnson also reaffirmed his commitment to ensure Brexit without further delay.

Britain's departure date has already been postponed twice from the original end of March deadline.

"This is a very difficult time for the country in the sense that Brexit is about to be done and a lot of people don't want Brexit to be done," he said.

Britain struck a Brexit deal with the European Union last year, under former premier Theresa May, but it was rejected three times by the British parliament.

The most contentious issue was a so-called backstop plan, which could keep Britain in a customs union with the EU indefinitely to avoid checks on the Irish border.