Boris Johnson’s hyped Brexit ‘deal’ is dead in a ditch, and it describes perfectly why Britain will Remain

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Well, it could land at Liverpool docks, say, and if it did it would be free to travel throughout “mainland” Great Britain without let or hindrance, though not, as things stand, be able to board a ferry to Dublin or Belfast, because Ireland and Northern Ireland would share EU phytosanitary standards. Then there are goods landing at Belfast docks – wholesome euro-friendly non-chlorinated chickens, say, from outside the EU or Great Britain, some of which will be destined for Northern Irish tummies, others for Great Britain and yet others for Ireland and, potentially, across the entire EU, either as they stand or in some processed chicken products. A world where an EU member state, with a UK-style deal, can be effectively part of the EU customs union yet able to strike trade deals across the world presents obvious risks for the future of the European project. It’s entirely rational and sensible for the EU to behave in that way – not “selfish”, or no more selfish than the British are being.