Thursday 07 February 2019 3:42 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 1:35 am

Theresa May refuses to take no for an answer in Brexit backstop talks

Theresa May has said she will continue to fight for changes to Brexit backstop protocol, despite being told by EU it is not up renegotiation.

The Prime Minister travelled to Brussels on Thursday for a series of meetings designed at kick-starting a fresh round of talks to break the impasse in negotiations.

May wants to secure changes to the backstop plan to avoid to a hard border with Ireland – which currently sees the UK signing up to the EU's customs union with no end date or unilateral way of exiting.

Her meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker was described as “robust” by both sides, with the European Commission President only agreeing to discussions around fleshing out the political declaration part of the Brexit deal agreed by the EU in December.

Further talks will be held before the end of the month, a joint statement from Juncker and May confirmed.

Speaking after further meetings with European Council leader Donald Tusk and European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, May vowed to fight on despite no indication the EU are prepared to make any legally binding changes to the backstop plan.

She said: “I’ve set out very clearly the position from parliament that we must have legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement in order to deal with parliament’s concerns over the backstop.

“What I see and hear from leaders is a desire for us to work together, to ensure that we can deliver the UK leaving the European Union with a deal.

“My work is to deliver Brexit, to deliver it on time and I’m going to be negotiating hard in the coming days to do just that.”

May will continue her bid to change European minds with a dinner in Dublin on Friday evening with Irish PM Leo Varadkar.

Ireland’s leader was in Brussels on Wednesday setting out his desire to keep the backstop plan.

His press conference alongside Donald Tusk caused a storm when the European Council President said: “I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely.”

May said she challenged Tusk over those comments during their meeting on Thursday, describing them as “not helpful” and causing “widespread dismay”.

She added: “The point I made to him is that we should both be working to secure a close relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union in the future and that’s what he should be focusing on.”