Means of changing PM May's Brexit deal less important than substance, ex-minister Raab says
LONDON (Reuters) - Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said the substance of Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal with the European Union needs to change, particularly on the issue of the Northern Irish backstop, though the means to achieve that is less important.
With just 28 days until Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, May is still seeking changes to her Brexit deal in order to win the backing of parliament.
Under pressure from pro-EU ministers, earlier this week she promised lawmakers they would get a say over whether to seek an extension to the Article 50 exit negotiation period if her Brexit deal and a 'no deal' were rejected this month.
"The reality is the substance, rather than the vehicle or the means or the label, is what matters and we need to see substantial, substantive, legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement," Raab told BBC radio on Friday.
"The most obvious specific change is the ability to exit the backstop, whether through a sunset or a time frame or a mechanism, that allows us to be confident that we go into the end of 2021 knowing we're free of the backstop," he said referring to an insurance policy which aims to avoid the return of a physical border on the island of Ireland.
Raab, who resigned in November, said delaying Brexit would weaken the UK's leverage in negotiations with the EU.
He said 'no deal' was preferable to a delay, though he added: "There might be a case...(for) a short delay of a couple of weeks if we needed to get the legislation through."
On Wednesday Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading Brexiteer in Britain’s parliament said he could support the government's divorce deal if there was a time limit on the backstop.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Alistair Smout)
