Sausage Wars: Boris Turns Up Heat

All options on the table in sausage war, insists Downing St

- Martyn Brown

Boris Johnson came out fighting last night as “sausage wars” with the EU escalated.

Downing Street refused to rule out the UK taking unilateral action to ensure British chilled meats continue to go to Northern Ireland.

As the Prime Minister welcomed EU leaders to the G7 in Cornwall, his official spokesman said: “We keep all options on the table.”

However, No10 officials said the summit “is not the forum” for a breakthrough in the stand-off. Ahead of travelling to Cornwall, French President Emmanuel Macron said the UK’s request for the Northern Ireland protocol of the Brexit deal to be revised was “not serious”, adding: “Nothing is negotiable.”

But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab hit out at this “dogmatic, purist approach”, saying: “We want it to work for all sides, but the change must come from the Commission’s side, and the way they are approaching this. We are not negotiating or haggling the integrity of the United Kingdom…that is not on the table.”

The PM will hold separate talks with Mr Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the summit.

They will be followed by a meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, European Council president.

And all four EU figures are expected to press Mr Johnson over rules on chilled meats and other products under the Northern Ireland Protocol of his Brexit deal.

Warned