Britain's Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock
British health minister Matt Hancock said on Sunday any backstop arrangement to prevent a hard border with Ireland following Brexit would be temporary, adding there were different ways to make something "credibly time-limited".
"It's important where we have a backstop that that both reflects the integrity of the UK with respect to the customs union and customs arrangement and also that it's temporary," Hancock told the BBC's Andrew Marr show, declining to say whether there would be an expiry date for the backstop.
"We're coming into the final days and weeks of these negotiations ... everybody needs to get behind the prime minister and pull behind her because she is trying to deliver the best deal for Britain."
Prime Minister Theresa May's ministers should "exert their collective authority" to force a change in her Brexit strategy, former Brexit minister David Davis said on Sunday, stepping up pressure on Britain's leader.In an article in the Sunday Times newspaper, Davis again pressed May to abandon her proposal for leaving the European Union, saying the bloc "has rejected it. The public does not like it. Parliament will not vote for it".With less than six months before Britain leaves the EU in its biggest trade and foreign policy shift in more than 40 years, May is struggling to get backing for not only her vision for future ties with the bloc but also over a so-called backstop deal for Northern Ireland, one of the trickiest hurdles left.As Brexit talks progress, UK PM May struggles to find support at homeUnder pressure from parliamentary partner, UK's May meets ministersTalks with Brussels have been all but non-stop before a summit on Wednesday when the two sides hope to agree a draft withdrawal treaty to outline the divorce terms, including a transition agreement and a solution to Northern Ireland.Davis, who again criticised the government of which he was once part for accepting "the EU's language on dealing with the Northern Ireland border" in December, said it was now up to the so-called cabinet of top ministers to exert their influence."This is one of the most fundamental decisions that government has taken in modern times. It is time for cabinet members to exert their collective authority," Davis wrote."This week the authority of our constitution is on the line."Davis also said Britain should use the 39 billion pounds Britain has agreed in a financial settlement with the EU as the "biggest bargaining chip" to secure a beneficial future trading relationship with the bloc.DUP leader prefers no Brexit deal to EU 'annexation' of Northern IrelandBoris Johnson calls for PM May to ditch Brexit border backstop
May's team must force change in Brexit policy, says former minister
The head of the Northern Irish party that props up British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative government regards a no-deal Brexit as the "likeliest outcome", according to a leaked email seen by The Observer newspaper.The newspaper said Arlene Foster told Ashley Fox, leader of Conservative Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), over a dinner last week of her disappointment at a meeting with Michel Barnier, the French official leading the European Union's negotiating team."She described Barnier as being difficult and hostile in her meeting today," the leaked email cited by The Observer said. “AF said the DUP were ready for a no deal scenario, which she now believed was the likeliest one."The Observer said it was one of several emails it had seen that had been "leaked from the highest levels of government".DUP leader prefers no Brexit deal to EU 'annexation' of Northern IrelandBoris Johnson calls for PM May to ditch Brexit border backstopAs Brexit talks progress, UK PM May struggles to find support at home
DUP leader regards no-deal Brexit as 'likeliest outcome'