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Brexit explained #8/100

What is the customs backstop?

Analysis: Political correspondent Benjamin Kentish outlines the measure that has parliament deadlocked and why it's so controversial

Tuesday 25 December 2018 16:01 GMT
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It was the cause of months of deadlock between the UK and the EU, and is the basis of so much anger from Tory MPs that it threatens to split the Conservatives and topple Theresa May's government. But what is the customs backstop part of the Brexit agreement and why is it so controversial?

In short, the backstop is an insurance policy. It spells out what will happen if the UK and EU cannot agree a trade deal which maintains an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The EU insisted on the fall-back, in part at the request of the Irish government, because an open border is a key part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to the island of Ireland.

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