A week in the march towards Brexit

Ireland’s Brexit point man retires, the government clings to its belief in the backstop, and Johnson and Foster have what could be their last supper

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and British prime minister Boris Johnson: when will they meet face to face? Picture: Getty

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar recently raised a glass of sparkling wine to one of the Irish civil servants who has been outlasted by Brexit.

Rory Montgomery has been described as the classic Department of Foreign Affairs type, with an Anglo-Irish background, good relationships with diplomats across Europe, and a deep political awareness from his involvement in the negotiations on the Good Friday Agreement and the Lisbon Treaty.

Varadkar paid tribute to Montgomery, as he ...