May Enlists Hardline Brexiteers In Last-Ditch Bid On Irish Backstop

The group will meet “regularly” with Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, a No 10 spokeswoman said, as MPs try to thrash out a customs plan parliament and the EU will support. 

Downing Street said Attorney General Geoffrey Cox had begun “looking at the legal changes” of scrapping the backstop. 

It comes after Donald Tusk and Emmanuel Macron immediately rejected May’s demand to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement. 

“As the PM has previously said, there are a number of ideas on this, including a unilateral exit mechanism or a time limit and the attorney general is considering their wording and legal effect,” a No 10 spokeswoman said. 

“He will be closely engaged throughout the process.”

The taskforce is due to meet at the Cabinet Office in Whitehall, with meetings also scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

The ERG pivoted to support a government-backed amendment by Sir Graham Brady, which urged ministers to replace the Northern Irish backstop, after the Malthouse compromise was made public.