Electing a Brexiteer as next Tory leader will 'wreck' chances of a deal, claims former UK ambassador to EU

Electing a 'true believer Brexiteer' as the next Tory leader would likely 'wreck' any chance of agreeing a Brexit deal with Brussels, the former UK ambassador to the EU has claimed. Sir Ivan Rogers said Eurosceptic leadership challengers like Dominic Raab and Boris Johnson could make promises to the Tory grassroots to get elected which the bloc would never agree to. Those promises could include reopening the Withdrawal Agreement to delete or change the Irish border backstop protocol - something which the EU has repeatedly said it will not countenance. He said such a pledge would torpedo the talks and any prospect of the two sides agreeing to a new trading relationship.