British ambassador: Ireland should prepare for hard Brexit

Robin Barnett advises having a ‘contingency’ plan, and says Britain wants ‘frictionless’ border

Robin Barnett, British ambassador to Ireland: ‘Britain alone cannot deliver a solution to these problems’ Picture: Fergal Phillips

The Irish government should now be making preparations for the possibility that Britain will leave the EU without any trade deal, the country’s ambassador to Ireland has said.

Robin Barnett made the remarks in the same week that prime minister Theresa May outlined a range of Brexit options that include Britain operating as an “independent trading nation” in the event of no deal being reached with Brussels.

With EU leaders unlikely to agree ...