Face of Nation : Speaking to host John Humphrys, Latvian ambassador Baiba Braže appeared to soften the EU’s negotiating stance after historically being immutable to change even after Theresa May’s controversial deal was rejected by Parliament three times. After a somewhat ambiguous exchange as to the future of the Brexit negotiations, Mr Humphrys asked Ms Braže: “We know broadly what the Brexit people are looking for and I’m not quite clear whether you’re saying everything is once again open? Is it all up for grabs or has the deal, as far as you’re concerned, been done and is that the end of it?”
Despite EU bigwigs like Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk and Michel Barnier having all been unequivocal in their rejection of reopening the agreement, Ms Braže answered slightly differently and said: “As far as the EU has said, both the leaders and the chief negotiator, the deal is done – it’s the best we have and, again, it’s a good agreement.
“What happens next when there is a British Government with proposals that it has come up with – we can’t predict currently what’s going to happen then.
“What proposals will be there, what the first or second round of conversations will bring, what type of conversation there will be.
The open-ended optimism will be seen as a refreshing change for many who had grown weary at the EU’s intransigence over the Brexit deadlock.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have clashed over their plans for delivering Brexit as a former head of the civil service warned against making “straitjacket” promises to leave on Halloween.
In an open letter, Mr Johnson challenged his rival to commit to taking Britain out of the EU on October 31 “come what may” – warning not doing so would have “devastating” consequences for the Conservative Party and the country.
However, Mr Hunt hit back, calling it a “fake deadline” which – if adhered to – could lead to a general election which would hand power to Labour and derail Brexit altogether.
Mr Johnson’s apparent hardening of his stance on guaranteeing Brexit “with or without a deal” came as former civil service chief Bob Kerslake called the October 31 pledge “a complete hostage to fortune”.
In comments reported by The Independent, the former Whitehall mandarin warned Parliament will not countenance leaving the EU without a deal.
“It is always a good maxim in politics not to enter a room unless you know that you can get out of it,” the peer told the Chamberlain lecture in London on Tuesday.
“Boris Johnson has not only entered the room but he has put on the straitjacket, padlocked the door and started the tap running.”
