BORIS Johnson secured his landmark Christmas Eve Brexit deal hours after telling Brussels: “I won’t sign it — I won’t” in a massive row about taxes.
The livid PM warned the EU its demands to slap trade tariffs on Britain if we did not let them fish our waters forever was a deal breaker.
A source told HOAR: “The PM was ready to walk at that point.
“We were writing a script trying to explain to the world we had blown up a £660billion deal over less than a billion quid of fish.”
Mr Johnson’s hardline stance saw Brussels blink on the demand late on Tuesday, with the EU asking for a long transition for their fishing boats “as cover” for their climbdown.
An insider said: “It meant we could take back control of our waters as we promised at the 2016 referendum. The PM stared them down and it worked.”
Mr Johnson says his deal is “glad tidings of great joy” for Britain as we will be unshackled from 40 years of Brussels control. Brandishing a copy of the 1,260-page zero-tariff, zero-quota agreement signed with Brussels at 2.44pm on Thursday, the PM quipped: “I have a small present for anyone who may be looking for something to read in that sleepy post-Christmas lunch moment.” In all, 200 officials — including EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier — spent more than 2,000 hours haggling over details on everything from electric car batteries to mackerel.
BRUSSELS BLINKED
But during one of the tensest moments of the talks, Mr Johnson’s phone line with Brussels seemed to have gone dead.
Discussing the initial time EU boats will be allowed to carry on fishing UK waters, the European Commission’s president Ursula von der Leyen said: “Six years.”
The PM hit back: “Five” — then heard nothing. There was almost three minutes of silence before the No10 switchboard operator told him: “I’m sorry PM, we seem to have lost the European Commission.”
But a distant German voice said: “No, no, I’m still here. 5½ years?”
Insiders say that was the moment that unlocked the talks and let Mr Johnson — wearing his fish tie — declare that Brexit Britain will be back in “control of our destiny” and our waters on January 1.
Brussels diplomats met yesterday morning to rubber-stamp the deal that will go to MPs on Wednesday.
But ministers were suspicious last night they still had not been shown the full text of the accord.
