Face of Nation : Boris Johnson has rejected leaked claims overnight that the government has proposed “customs clearance zones” to tackle the Irish border issue. Government sources told it had prepared the legal text of an updated Brexit deal and would be making more plans public in the coming days. But Mr Johnson told Breakfast he was “not going to be producing now what we are going to be tabling” to the EU.
The leaked proposals were “confused” and “not right”, the PM added. He said this was the “moment the rubber hits the road” in negotiations and the UK would making “a very good offer” to the EU.
Mr Johnson was speaking at the start of the third day of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. The government has made a raft of policy announcements, including raising the National Living Wage over the next five years and investing into roads and bus networks.
But the plans have been overshadowed by allegations that Mr Johnson squeezed the thigh of a journalist under a table at a lunch in 1999.
Asked about the allegation by Charlotte Edwardes, the PM told Breakfast: “They’re not true. It’s obviously very sad that someone should make such allegations.”
