EU happy to give assurances over the backstop, Irish PM Leo Varadkar claims in boost to Theresa May

The EU is prepared to give fresh guarantees it does want to trap the UK in a backstop arrangement after Brexit, Ireland’s Prime Minister has said.

Speaking in Mali, Leo Varadkar made it clear European leaders would be willing to give assurances which could help Theresa May win a parliamentary vote on her deal next Tuesday.

May pulled the vote last month as more than 100 Tories vowed to join with opposition MPs to defeat her Brexit plan.

The presence of the Irish backstop proposal in the agreement – which would see the UK follow the EU’s customs union rules until a trade deal can be implemented – was cited by many as reason for opposing the plan.

May vowed to get further assurances from the EU that while the UK could not unilaterally leave the backstop, its use would only ever be temporary.

Brussels has repeatedly refused to reopen negotiations over the withdrawal agreement, meaning it is proving difficult for May to get legal assurances the backstop would be time-limited.

Varadkar appeared to offer May some support on Tuesday when, according to the Irish Times, he told reporters: “The [European] Council conclusions at our last meeting in December provided written assurances but certainly what’s happening at the moment is there is close contact between the UK and EU institutions on whether a further set of written guarantees explanations and assurances could make a difference.

“And bear in mind a lot of the opposition to the withdrawal agreement and the backstop might be based on suppositions and misunderstandings about our intent as a European Union.

"We don’t want to trap the UK into anything – we want to get on to the talks about the future relationship right away.

“I think it’s those kind of assurances we are happy to give.”

MPs are set to resume the debate on the Brexit deal on Wednesday, with five days set aside for the discussion.

May will close the debate on Tuesday evening, just before the crunch vote takes place.

The government has promised to update MPs on any assurances given by Brussels over the backstop, but the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman was unable to confirm when that information would be presented.

When asked if it would be before May delivers her winding up speech, he replied: “I would anticipate that would be the case.”