[The Times] Brexit: Tory anger as Boris Johnson ambushed in Europe

Boris Johnson was ambushed yesterday by the leader of the EU's second-smallest state who mocked his Brexit strategy after the prime minister withdrew from a press conference to avoid protesters.

In an extraordinary break with protocol Xavier Bettel, prime minister of Luxembourg, stood next to an empty lectern and berated Mr Johnson to cheers from anti-Brexit campaigners.

He accused his British counterpart of putting "party political gain" over the interests of his citizens and warned that the EU needed "more than words" to strike a new Brexit deal. He ridiculed suggestions that Mr Johnson could defy parliament and refuse to ask for a further Brexit extension, saying: "This would not happen in Luxembourg."

The performance prompted a diplomatic spat that marred the prime minister's efforts to win support for a new deal. Mr Bettel was accused of "unhelpful grandstanding".

In what appeared to be a deliberate ambush Mr Bettel's team had refused requests by Downing Street to move a scheduled press conference between the two leaders away from a noisy demonstration by British anti-Brexit protesters.

When Mr Johnson then declined to take part in the joint appearance Mr Bettel went ahead alone, leaving an empty podium and the British flag still fluttering behind him.

He proceeded to lambast Mr Johnson's plans to inject urgency into the Brexit negotiations. Asked by reporters whether Downing Street could be pursuing a sham negotiation in order to pin the blame on the EU for a no-deal Brexit, he replied: "I told him, 'I hear a lot but I don't read a lot.'" He added: "If they want to discuss anything we need to have it written [down]."

Mr Bettel's conduct drew a hostile reaction from Tory Brexiteers. The former party leader Iain Duncan Smith said: "The irony is that Luxembourg was saved by Britain. National leaders should always treat one another with courtesy and civility. Good ones do."

The negative reaction was not limited to Brexiteers. Sir Nicholas Soames, one of 21 MPs expelled by Mr Johnson for voting to block no-deal, accused Mr Bettel of "unhelpful grandstanding".

Mr Johnson held his first meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU Commission, also in Luxembourg. They agreed to speed up Brexit talks, with the two sides expected to meet daily in Brussels. The prime minister told the BBC that he was "cautiously optimistic" about a deal.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/brexit-tory-anger-as-boris-johnson-ambushed-in-europe-609v2jmrc