Standing firm: Antonio Tajani, president of the European parliament, right, and Guy Verhofstadt, the EU Brexit negotiator, met with Theresa May yesterday. They have urged her to consider softer Brexit plans put forward in a letter from Jeremy Corbyn EPASenior figures from the US Congress have warned that maintaining an open border in Ireland is vital if a future trade deal is to be brokered between America and Britain. Simon Coveney is in Washington for top-level meetings with US officials. The tánaiste and foreign affairs minister discussed Brexit with Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, yesterday and spoke by phone to Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff. “Our aim is to minimise the considerable downsides of Brexit and maximise the upsides,” he told politicians.

Source: The Times February 08, 2019 00:00 UTC