Raab Says ‘Canada Plus’ Is Shortcut to No Deal: Brexit Update

Brexit negotiations are in a make-or-break phase ahead of a key European Union summit on Oct. 17. British lawmakers will hear from Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab later, while Arlene Foster -- whose Northern Irish party props up the U.K. government -- is fighting her corner in Brussels.

A lawmaker from the Democratic Unionist Party tried to put Raab on the spot by asking him how would the U.K. ensure that the “foolishly agreed” backstop won’t last forever. Raab’s answer was that “we have been clear that the backstop would need to be a temporary and finite bridge to the future relationship.” Raab repeated the line that there cannot be a customs border between different parts of the U.K. -- but that answer leaves the door open to a regulatory border in the Irish Sea.