Cabinet ministers demand Plan B, The Times reports. And it may include Northern Ireland staying in alignment with the EU if GB diverges

The Times reports:

Boris Johnson was under pressure from cabinet ministers last night to abandon his Brexit strategy and “come up with a plan B” after opposition parties pledged to veto any bid for a general election before he asks the EU for an extension

On a chaotic day it emerged that:

• Rebel Tories expelled from the party by Mr Johnson have struck a deal behind his back with European leaders to secure a three-month Brexit extension.
• The group, which also includes opposition MPs, has a legal team ready to go to court to compel Mr Johnson to send a letter if he fails to do so by the legal deadline.

One senior government figure said that Mr Johnson’s whole strategy was in “tatters”. In private, cabinet ministers demanded a “fundamental rethink” of Downing Street’s approach.

“Boris needs to make peace with the Tory rebels and get serious about making a deal with Brussels even if that means throwing the Spartans [hardline Brexiteers] under a bus,” one said. “Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s senior adviser, may be very clever but his plan has failed. We now need a plan B.”

Another cabinet minister warned that Mr Johnson would have no choice but to ask for an extension to Article 50 if he wanted to remain as prime minister. “As a government we abide by the rule of law or you don’t stay in office,” they said. “I think the attorney-general would agree with that.”

One speculated that Mr Johnson might back a second referendum: “We can’t hold an election after October 31 because we would be decimated by the Brexit Party. The thing about Boris is that he wants to stay in power. I think it is entirely possible that he will come to the conclusion that a second referendum is the only way to resolve this.”

ebel Tory MPs and opposition leaders received private assurances from European leaders that a request by parliament for a three-month Brexit extension would be granted in one last attempt to break the deadlock.

The Times understands that senior figures behind the bill to force an extension on Boris Johnson cleared their plan with EU capitals before it was published this week. They received reassurances that the European Council, which is made up of EU leaders, would not stand in the way of one final extension if it was approved by parliament.

One figure in the rebel group, which also includes Labour MPs, said that while President Macron of France had been the “most sceptical” about a further delay, they were told he would not stand in the way. “We don’t think it will be granted — we know it will be,” they said of the EU leaders’ likely response. “Those discussions have already taken place.”

The group has also drawn up plans to take Boris Johnson to court if he follows through on his pledge not to put his name to an extension request.

Senior lawyers were understood to have been involved in the drafting of the legislation and advised the MPs it had a “95 per cent chance of being upheld in the courts”. They believe that even if the government challenged the legality of the legislation the courts would make a ruling before October 31 that would prevent Mr Johnson from triggering a no-deal Brexit by default. Yesterday peers approved the bill, clearing the way for it to become law.

The FT quotes Maddy Thimont Jack of the Institute for Government Johnson’s best hope now is probably to go back to trying to getting a Withdrawal Agreement signed with the EU on October 17.”

Which begs quite a few questions.

The EU and the Irish government have rejected Boris Johnson’s proposal for an all-Ireland agri-foods zone to replace the backstop and give the Assembly a vote over continuing it, according to the Guardian. The mention of the Assembly is the new element in contacts between the UK government and Commission officials. It recalls a similar role for the Assembly over continuing the NI specific backstop made unsuccessfully by Theresa May. It hardly helps that the Assembly hasn’t t been sitting for over two and half years. Even if it were, the prospects of agreement are not encouraging between  pro EU Sinn Fein and Leave DUP

In advance of Johnson’s  planned visit to Dublin on Monday, Irish sources quoted by the Guardian reacted angrily to Johnson’s gambit, saying the protection of the all-Ireland economy was a vital element of the Good Friday agreement, and that the responsibility for protecting the peace process lay with Westminster and not the Northern Ireland assembly

l Brexit correspondent Lisa O’Carroll’s report adds to others that Johnson is considering reversion to continuing Northern Ireland alignment with EU standards if the GB diverged. Has he checked this out with the DUP?

There was some scepticism that what the British prime minister had in mind was regulatory alignment on food between Ireland and the UK, something suggested by the Alternative Arrangements Commission, the privately funded body which has been examining how to replace the backstop.

But sources have confirmed that this is not the case and Johnson’s thinking is that Northern Ireland would remain aligned to EU standards in the Republic of Ireland if the UK diverged from EU standards at a future point.

Asked if there was merit in this proposal, Coveney said “yes” and added that he had a “good conversation” with Gove during his meeting.

After Leo Varadakar conceded that  checks required in the event of No Deal  would take place near the border,  RTE’s Europe editor Tony Connelly reports that

It is understood that the EU will initially take what might be described as a passive role, given that under EU treaties it is up to member states to apply the rules governing customs collection, food safety, animal health and product compliance.

Over time, the Government would be expected to communicate to the EU how it is managing different checks and controls, if some controls are simply politically too perilous, and what flexibility might be available.

However, it is understood both Dublin and Brussels acknowledge that there can be no derogations from EU law.. It is understood a phased approach could be taken to how a no-deal situation is managed.

This would involve an initial period during which the Irish authorities carefully assess which checks are manageable and which are politically too sensitive in the immediate aftermath of a no-deal exit.

The Government could then make an assessment after several weeks or months which would be communicated to Brussels.