The UK may need to extend the Brexit deadline in the case of a late deal passing Parliament, Britain’s foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.
Mr Hunt said that a delay may be needed to pass necessary legislation to replace issues currently covered by the EU.
“If we ended up approving a deal in the days before 29 March, then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation,” Mr Hunt said.
“We can’t know at this stage exactly which of those scenarios would happen.”
In making his comments on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Hunt has become the first senior MP to admit a delay may happen. When questioned on the matter in the past, Theresa May has insisted the UK will leave the EU as currently scheduled on March 29.
The former health secretary also made an impassioned defence of the Good Friday Agreement, which EU officials have said is at risk from a no-deal situation.
“Our commitment to the Belfast, Good Friday agreement, is absolutely unconditional,” he said.
“In fact, it is quite distressing for people like me and you, who grew up in the 1980s with bombs going off in Harrods or in Hyde Park and all over the country. Any suggestion that we would ever waver in our support for the peace process, which was the greatest achievement of both John Major and Tony Blair, is absolutely nonsense.”
He also said the UK needed to prove to the EU that any changes to the Northern Irish backstop enshrined in the current deal with the bloc were not an attempt to access the single market by the back door . Once these two elements were complete, he said, a resolution may may be possible.
"But this is not going to happen in the next few days. We have to put these proposals together, we have to work them up, we have to go through them in detail with our partners in the EU,” he said.
MPs on the opposite side of the aisle took issue with Mr Hunt’s assertion that the backstop issue could be so easily resolved. MP for Tottenham and ardent remainer David Lammy said Mr Hunt “either expects a fifth industrial revolution that will transform border technology in the next 57 days, or else he is just talking horse manure.”
Meanwhile European leaders are moving to ensure that if there is a new phase of the Brexit negotiation it will represent the last act in the saga.
Mujtaba Rahman, a consultant and former European official, said that member states would accept an extension but only with conditions. “There’s a growing realisation in the EU that the UK might need longer to get its house in order than the UK itself realises," he said. “The bar to extending article 50 for the EU will be quite low – leaders love to kick the can. If there is a contentious issue, it’s more about the length of any article 50 extension as opposed to the principle of whether there should be one.”
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
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SQUADS
South Africa:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Bangladesh:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Coach: Chandika Hathurusingha
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
