Brexit news - LIVE: Macron tells Boris Johnson backstop is 'indispensable' and says new Withdrawal Agreement 'cannot be found within 30 days'

The project might be hated by Tory activists, but the review into HS2 ordered by Boris Johnson seems likely to keep the high-speed rail project on track, says Jon Stone.

Emmanuel Macron has begun speaking alongside Boris Johnson on the steps outside the Elysee Palace.

The French president said his Brexit position is to “respect the decision” of the British people, but said it was his responsibility protect the European Union. He said he would never “weaken” the EU project.

“As a friend and ally, I can say it is up to the United Kingdom alone to decide its destiny,” he said.

Macron and Johnson at the Elysee Palace (Reuters) 

“I want a deal, and I believe a deal is possible,” says Boris Johnson, before reiterating his willingness to pull the UK out of the EU without one.

“We must come out of the EU on 31 October 31, deal or no deal.”

Boris Johnson has been asked if a no-deal Brexit is “a bit of a con”.

The PM replied by saying a great deal of no-deal planning has been done to ensure a “smooth and pain-free” exit for citizens “on both sides” of the English Channel.

And that’s that. The pair head inside the palace for lunch. Emmanuel Macron has said the Irish backstop has already been negotiated, and insisted again that it guarantees stability in Ireland and the ensures the integrity of the single market.

“We cannot find a new Withdrawal Agreement within 30 days,” he said. 

He also said the Withdrawal Agreement “does not belong to any member of the EU alone to negotiate or to renegotiate”.

Macron also said his image as the “bad cop” when it came to EU negotiations with the UK was unfounded.

“I’ve been presented as the hard boy in the group – it’s just that I’ve always been clear a choice has been made and we cannot ignore it.”

Johnson and Macron appear at press conference at Elysee (Reuters) 

Emmanuel Macron did offer some support for Angela Merkel’s call for the UK to come forward with proposals for alternative arrangements to the backstop within 30 days.

“What Angela Merkel said yesterday and which is very much in line with the discussions we have had since the very beginning is that we need visibility in 30 days," he said.

“I believe that this also matches the goal of Prime Minister Johnson. No one will wait until October 31 to find the right solution.”

He said the EU’s negotiator Michel Barnier could be involved in finding an answer “without totally reshuffling the Withdrawal Agreement”.

“We should all together be able to find something smart within 30 days if there is goodwill on both sides,” Mr Macron suggested.

But he also insisted the Withdrawal Agreement could not be reopened.

“The Irish backstop … is an important element that allows us to guarantee the stability in Ireland and also the integrity of the single market. Let me be very clear with you. These two goals have to be met.”

“We cannot find a new Withdrawal Agreement within 30 days, which will be very different from the existing one.

“It’s just that what Michel Barnier has negotiated can be amended while complying with the integrity of the single market.”

More than half of the Northern Ireland Assembly members – including the leaders of Sinn Fein, SDLP, Alliance and the Green Party – have penned a joint letter to European Council president Donald Tusk confirming their backing for the backstop.

The letter from Northern Ireland Assembly members to European Council president Donald Tusk states: “It is our view that the progress made in developing integrated and enduring relationships on this island, politically, economically and socially, over the last 20 years is far too important to abandon. Particularly at a moment when those relationships are being tested.”

“With that in mind, and with no functioning Executive or Assembly currently in place in Northern Ireland to give expression to the democratic wishes of people here, we write to you to confirm our support for the backstop contained within the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration.

“It is our view that a legally operable guarantee to protect the Good Friday Agreement, maintain north-south co-operation and preserve the all-island economy and to prevent a return to physical infrastructure on our border or physical checks at or near the border is necessary to preserve the progress that we have made.”

Ending free movement on day one of a crash-out Brexit is impossible because it “can’t be enforced”, experts have warned the government.

Here’s our deputy political editor Rob Merrick with more.

A no-deal Brexit could see police in Northern Ireland calling in support from other forces in the UK to help manage the border, the region's police chief has said.

Simon Byrne said a mutual aid request is one option in the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Brexit scenario planning as he warned that policing 300 border crossings is “just not practical”.

Byrne stressed he had not “pressed that button yet” in requesting outside support, and said the PSNI’s primary aim would be to police the fallout from a no-deal exit with its own officers working in co-operation with the Garda south of the border.

He outlined details of the PSNI’s Brexit preparations as he urged the government to bolster his resources by recruiting a wave of new officers.

Byrne, who was visiting a PSNI call handling centre in east Belfast on Thursday, questioned why Boris Johnson's commitment to recruit 20,000 extra officers in England and Wales had not been extended to Northern Ireland.

"If we go back to the past we talked about a number of 7,500 officers being what Patten (Lord Patten who oversaw policing reforms) saw as the number of officers that I need to police the streets of Northern Ireland and that's my plea to politicians," he said.

"At the end of the day the prime minister made a commitment in England and Wales to increase the headcount of police officers by 20,000 - when will we see our share here?