David Davis, British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, caused shockwaves this weekend when he told Andrew Marr that he saw the Brexit deal agreed last week as “a statement of intent rather than a legally enforceable thing.”
The rhetoric threatened to undermine the legitimacy of the deal, which had effectively secured economic conditions that would allow the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to forego a hard border.
Today, Davis has rowed back on those original comments, telling LBC, “They completely twisted my words, I am afraid.”
Davis went on to call the deal “More than legally enforceable.”
David Davis tells LBC he didn't say Brexit deal wasn't legally enforceable. "They completely twisted my words, I am afraid."
— Adam Payne (@adampayne26) December 11, 2017
ROLL BACK ALERT 🚨@DavidDavisMP tells @LBC the Irish border deal is "more than legally enforceable." #Brexit
— Darren McCaffrey (@darrenmccaffrey) December 11, 2017
Davis’ original comments came at a time when former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith was arguing that the deal could be “torn up tomorrow.”
Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, was quick to point to Article 46 of last week’s deal, which reads “The commitments and the principles… are made and must be upheld in all circumstances, irrespective of the nature of any future agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom”
Art.46 of Fridays agreed text re Ireland/NI: "The commitments and the principles…are made and must be upheld in all circumstances, irrespective of the nature of any future agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom." – clear and positive commitment from UK Govt
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) December 10, 2017
The conditions of the deal would effectively see the United Kingdom as a whole remain within the single market and customs union.
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