Turning the screw: Johnson pushes EU deal to the brink

If no deal is done today, it will radically alter the climate of the relationship between the EU and Britain after years of negotiating an agreement, the importance of which Brexiteers have always downplayed

Boris Johnson: ‘has done a good job of persuading people he is willing to drive over the cliff if he is not happy with the deal’ Picture: Andy Rain EPA/Bloomberg

When Michael Noonan was in cabinet, he used to warn his fellow ministers that Brexit was not a storm that would pass. The former Minister for Finance told them it was akin to political climate change across Europe, a permanent alteration in Britain’s relationship with Ireland and the other EU member states.

But after four years of tortuous talks, false dawns, missed deadlines and cliff edges, there is still no clear picture of whether Britain ...