This time last year, the Brexit talks were deadlocked, parliament was in meltdown and Boris Johnson was insisting that he would “die in a ditch” rather than delay Britain’s departure from the EU. On October 7, 2019, a senior Downing Street adviser (widely assumed to be Dominic Cummings) wrote a lengthy text message to the journalist James Forsyth suggesting that “the negotiations will probably end this week” and “we’ll either leave with no deal on October 31 or there will be an election and then we will leave with no deal”. Brussels, the adviser warned darkly, was making a mistake to “think we’re bluffing”. Ten days later, the prime minister had caved in to the EU’s demands on the Northern Irish border and Michel Barnier,

Source: The Times September 07, 2020 23:15 UTC