Britain's new Prime Minister Boris Johnson has held talks with allies in Northern Ireland in a bid to solve the Irish border conundrum that has scuppered all efforts to secure an orderly withdrawal from the European Union.
Johnson drove away without commenting on Wednesday's talks with the Democratic Unionist Party, the pro-Brexit party whose 10 MPs prop up his government.
But the party's leader said she believed a compromise could be reached and another party member present said a time-limited backstop was discussed.
"There are ways to deal with this issue if there is a willingness on both sides," Arlene Foster told journalists.
While she agreed the Withdrawal Agreement and the backstop were effectively dead, she said a "sensible way forward" was possible if the Irish government agreed to engage.
The backstop would force Britain to obey some EU rules if no other way could be found to keep the land border open between British-ruled Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. Dublin says this is crucial to maintaining peace on the island.
'PRAGMATIC SOLUTIONS'
A senior DUP lawmaker who attended a dinner meeting with Johnson on Tuesday evening said possible compromises were discussed - specifically the possibility of putting a time limit on the backstop and other "pragmatic solutions."
Asked if Johnson was responsive to the suggestions, Donaldson told Irish radio RTE that he would not "negotiate in public."
The other four Northern Ireland parties Johnson met on his first visit to the region as prime minister complained his dinner with the DUP undermined his government's position as honest broker in talks to restore the region's government.
The power-sharing administration was suspended two-and-a-half years ago because of differences between the parties representing mainly Protestant pro-British unionists and mainly Catholic nationalists who favour a united Ireland.
Asked about the accusation of bias, Johnson told journalists his "prime focus this morning is to do everything I can to help that get up and running again."
Johnson, who was finishing up a three-day tour of the United Kingdom during which he was booed in Edinburgh and Cardiff, did not take any more questions from the media. A couple of dozen anti-Brexit protesters waved placards nearby.
'CATASTROPHIC BREXIT'
Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Wednesday again rejected calls for the Withdrawal Agreement to be reopened, saying Ireland "isn't going to be bullied on this issue" as it had "total support" from other EU countries.
But his government has repeatedly said it wants to sit down with Johnson to hear his ideas on the border.
The head of Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, said she had told Johnson that leaving the EU without a deal would be catastrophic for the economy and the 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of violence in the region.
"Any notion that he might crash this part of Ireland out of the European Union and cause the level of jeopardy and damage ... and that people would meekly go along with that, is deeply misguided and that would be a very dangerous course of action of political action," she said.
In the latest sign of a manufacturing downturn in the run-up to Brexit, investment in Britain's car industry was shown to have slumped surveys and company comments showed on Wednesday.
Many economists believe a no-deal exit from the EU would severely damage UK's $US2.8 trillion (NZ$4.2 trillion) economy. Brexiteers, acknowledge there will be short-term pain but say the benefits of departure have been understated.
Johnson's bet is that the threat of a no-deal Brexit will persuade the EU's biggest powers - Germany and France - to a compromise deal.
EXTRA $3.9 BILLION FOR NO-DEAL PLAN
Britain is ramping up preparations for a no-deal Brexit by preparing to spend an extra £2.1 billion ($NZ3.9 billion) to make sure the country is ready to leave the EU with or without a divorce deal at the end of October.
The new government, which took power last week, has pledged to leave the trading bloc without an agreement in three months unless the EU agrees to renegotiate the deal agreed by his predecessor Theresa May.
Ministers have warned that one of the most hotly contested elements of the divorce agreement - the Irish border backstop - will have to be struck out if there is to be a deal, something the EU has repeatedly said it won't agree to.
In his first major policy announcement, new finance minister Sajid Javid doubled spending on preparations for a no deal exit this year. The extra money will fund a nationwide advertising campaign, help Britons living abroad, ensure the supply of medicine and improve infrastructure around ports.
"With 92 days until the UK leaves the European Union it’s vital that we intensify our planning to ensure we are ready,” Javid said. "We want to get a good deal that abolishes the anti-democratic backstop. But if we can't get a good deal, we'll have to leave without one."
Sterling has fallen 2% against the dollar since Johnson took power and promised to scrap the "backstop" proposed by the EU to guarantee its only land border with the UK remained open.
The currency steadied on Wednesday after four days of losses, helped by month-end sterling demand and a sense in markets that while a hard exit from the EU without an agreement had risen, it was not yet certain.
