G7 Summit

Yvette Cooper Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I know the great interest that my right hon. Friend has taken in Ukraine and the fortunes of that wonderful country. I assure him that President Zelensky rang me before the G7 particularly to insist on his continued concerns about the Russian activities. I am sure that those concerns are shared across the House.

[Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)]

In the Prime Minister’s answer to the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, he referred only to the “rough shape” of an alternative deal. Does he have any detailed proposals, and can he confirm that he has not sent any detailed proposals to the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

We have been in extensive talks. As the right hon. Lady will appreciate, it does not make sense to negotiate in public, but it has been clear from what I have said already that the backstop is unacceptable and so is the political declaration as currently written. We have detailed proposals of how to address both issues and we are making progress. I say respectfully to friends on both sides of the House that now is the time to allow UK negotiators to get on with their job.