PRIME Minister Boris Johnson is setting out his Brexit plan, which he describes as a “fair and reasonable compromise” that all sides can agree on.
But reaching an agreement will be far from straightforward – and may yet prove impossible.
What are the issues which need to be resolved?
The problem remains the Northern Ireland backstop – the safety net intended to guarantee there is no return of a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Under the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by Theresa May, if there is no long-term trade agreement in place that ensures an open border, the UK would remain closely tied to EU rules and its customs union.
Mr Johnson has insisted the measure has to be scrapped as being in a customs union would prevent the UK striking trade deals and his blueprint sets out in a legal text how he intends to achieve this.
By David Hughes, PA
