Brexit deal news: Theresa May’s plea for help slapped down by three top German politicians

Germany delivered a triple rebuff to Theresa May’s pleas to change her stricken Brexit deal today.

As the Prime Minister flew early to a two-day Brussels summit to ask leaders individually to rescue the agreement with new legal assurances on the backstop, three big names came out with warnings that they are not willing to go that far.

German interior minister Stephan Mayer, European commissioner Guenther Oettinger and senior MEP Elmar Brok all said that a political clarification was possible but not a legally-watertight change to the agreement.

Their offer was instantly rejected by Mrs May’s DUP allies. Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said: “That would be unacceptable to us.”

The Prime Minister faced a fresh call to quit this morning, despite winning a confidence vote. Former Cabinet minister Dominic Raab told ITV News: “It looks very difficult to see how this PM can lead us forward.” She rose early after last night’s vote of 200 Tory MPs for her and 117 against her.

The result left Tory in-fighting raging as fiercely as before.

Her plane took off around 9am for Brussels to give her time to defuse a potential clash at tonight’s dinner of the 27 other leaders.

Mrs May had bilateral meetings lined up with Leo Varadkar, the Irish premier, Donald Tusk, the European Council president and others - with extra meetings being slotted in while she was in the air.

Britain’s aim appeared to be to push the issue back into a more relaxed discussion after the summit, delaying the Commons “meaningful vote” until January.

Mr Mayer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t see any room for amendments on the legal Agreement, but I think beneath that we should consider if it’s possible to make clarifications in the Political Declaration or elsewhere to avoid a hard Brexit. I think this must be the main objective for both sides.”

Mr Brok, who sits on the Brexit steering group of the European Parliament, seemed baffled by the concerns expressed in the UK about the backstop, a binding commitment for Northern Ireland to obey EU rules indefinitely unless a new trade deal is reached that makes a hard border unneccesary.

He said: “We can make a clear political declaration of what is obvious... the backstop is there in order not to be used, because it is insurance. The purpose is never use the backstop, so there is no danger for the UK to be stuck in the EU.”

Mr Oettinger, the commissioner for budget and human resources, told German broadcaster SWR that only clarifications were possible.

“We can say ‘that and that was meant this way’... so final clarification yes, but further negotiations no,” he said.

The trio’s words echoed a speech given by Angela Merkel to her parliament last night in which she said: “We have no intention to change the exit agreement. That’s the common position of the 27 member states and in that sense we do not expect any changes arising from the debates.”

The DUP’s Mr Wilson said the deal would never get backing in the Commons unless binding changes were made to allow the UK to end the backstop if it did not work out.

“Assurances are given by people who probably will not be around to deliver on them,” he said.

“The only thing we can be sure of is a legally binding commitment that will either end the backstop or allow one party to leave it.”

As Mrs May took off, Mr Tusk tweeted: “Ahead of [the summit] I will meet PM Theresa May for last-minute talks.”

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told Today he expected the summit to look at “the political and legal assurances that colleagues are looking for”.

Mr Barclay insisted there were signs of movement from the EU on the backstop.

“The direction of travel is moving in a positive way in terms of the temporary nature of the backstop, and it’s in both sides’ interests for there to be a deal,” he said.

“There is movement, but the question is how do we ensure that that movement is sufficient for colleagues?”

He urged MPs to stop focusing on the leadership and unite following last night’s vote.

However, speaking to ITV News, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said he feared if Mrs May stays in No10 there is a greater risk of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister.

“It’s very difficult to see how this Prime Minister can lead us forward,” he stressed, explaining that he did not vote for Mrs May in the confidence vote last night.

He added that Tory MPs would have to back Mrs May “the best we can”.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell called for “a two-way process” with the Government to improve the deal.

But Mrs May was warned she cannot rely on Labour votes to get the deal through by Nikki da Costa, No 10’s former director of legislative affairs. Ms Da Costa said rebel Labour MPs might defy Jeremy Corbyn in a big vote but were unlikely to last a marathon series of votes to get the new laws passed for the deal. She said Mrs May could do a deal with Mr Corbyn but asked: “What’s the price of that?”

Ex minister Jo Johnson‏ said the deal was beyond salvage. “It’s not going to improve with a few tweaks and assurances,” he said. “It’s fundamentally flawed.”

Supreme Court judges gave Mrs May a minor victory by ruling against a Scottish Parliament challenge to her Brexit plans. They ruled that a rival deal fell “outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament”.