It's hard to know what to make of the Daily Express - apart from the fire that is. The fact it reports mostly completely ludicrous stories is I think well known outside of its addled readership who must exist in a twilight world somewhere way beyond reality. But coverage of Brexit and the EU seems to be deliberately designed to inflame and enrage the simpletons who I assume buy the paper because they believe it reports the truth - or something close to it.
Yesterday, they had an article that must have been written in drink - or powerful, mind bending drugs.
Apparently, someone from Downing Street (either Cummings or one of his acolytes) has told The Express:
No 10 has decided it would be futile to attempt to resume talks after the transition period expires at the end of the year because Mr Barnier would still struggle to find the bandwidth to convince EU leaders to drop their “eye-watering” demands.
A senior Government source said: “It is the UK that is driving any progress being made in this negotiation. The Commission are either not ready or not willing to inject momentum.
“They need to put some political reality into its approach, and appreciate that they cannot use their usual tactic of delay to drag the talks into the autumn.
“By then it will be too late, as businesses need to know what to prepare for with as much time as is practicable.”
David Frost, the Prime Minister’s chief Brexit negotiator, has become frustrated with the bloc’s continued demands over fisheries and a regulatory level-playing field.
A source close to the negotiations accused Brussels of rowing back on the commitments it made in the Political Declaration.
The official said: “They clearly need to reconsider their position to avoid backsliding on the agreement made last autumn, and stop making demands incompatible with our future status as an independent coastal state.”
BRITISH negotiators will issue a now-or-never ultimatum to Brussels when they resume talks over a post-Brexit trade agreement on Tuesday with the European Union.
This is a completer reversal of the truth. It amounts almost to a kind of sedition against the EU. The idea that it is the UK driving progress is insane. We have only recently provided a draft legal text. The EU did it back in March!! And we forbid the EU sharing our texts with member states until a few days ago. It all looks quite mad.
Frost is apparently frustrated with the "continued demands" over fisheries and a level playing field - the things we signed up to last October! And to add insult to injury, we accuse the EU of "backsliding" when it's Britain who is "rowing back" on the NI protocol and the LPF commitments.
I assume Cummings is behind all this and the Express is a willing helper but it is trashing what's left of our international reputation and gaslighting a section of the population that has been slowly poisoned by years of anti-EU rubbish.
I am afraid the EU is being set-up to carry the blame for the failure to secure any of the stupid promises made in 2016. I thought this tweet from the always excellent Chris Grey summed it all up well after a similar article appeared in The Telegraph under the egregious Daniel Hannan:
Before: Brexit will be easy, the EU will give us a great deal. This proves Brexit is a good idea.
— Chris Grey (@chrisgreybrexit) May 31, 2020
After: Brexit is difficult, the EU won't give us a great deal. This proves Brexit is a good idea. https://t.co/CJzu3y21kV
It's a mad world isn't it?
