Brexitcast

Now on BBC News, it's a special

televised edition of the BBC's

Brexitcast podcast.

Here is Chris Mason and friends.

The question is, does this shirt

work on TV?

Has that shirt ever seen

an iron?

It said it was non iron on

the back.

Normally we record the

Brexitcast pod cast...

We call that

a shirt for radio.

Normally we sit

in a cupboard recording the little

pod cast, Brexitcast.

I have brought

Kate!

You did, you did. This is a

twist on the usual pod cast,

normally into your ears only and

instead, welcome and thanks for

watching on the BBC News channel to

a special Brexitcast with an invited

audience.

Brexitcast from BBC 5 Live

and BBC News.

Brexit means Brexit.

Breaking up is hard. The people

voted and they have to get on with

it.

I think Brexit is going to be a

wonderful thing.

I have to say this

is a tough negotiating process which

a -- I can only describe as adults

breakfast.

Brexit means Brexit, but

what does Brexit mean?

-- as a dog's

breakfast.

Oh, what did you think of

the jingle?

It is magnificent,

darling.

LAUGHTER I didn't edit it.

What do

you think of the Brexitcast jingle?

Yeah, a good summary of where we are

so far? And who said Brexit is a

dog's breakfast? Was it Yanis

Varoufakis?

That was a niche

question, wasn't it?

Lets focus on

the big picture, where are we on the

seemingly never-ending Brexit

process?

It is the Christmas party

at Downing Street, and for

journalist and officials this

evening, and their Christmas party

because, after all the NXT of the

last few months, after the

frustrations, their difficulties,

all of the wrangles at a cost for

Theresa May, last week at the end of

the week she got her piece of paper,

she was able to come home and say

yes, phase one is over. Now, does

that solve the contradictions we

have discussed on the programme?

Does it mean the problems have gone

away? Does it mean anything other

than for Number Ten thank goodness

they got to this stage? Not really.

That in and of itself given the

divisions in the Tory party, the

divisions in the types of approach

between the UK and EU that is an

achievement for a Prime Minister who

lost her majority down the back of a

sofa not long ago.

And she has been

applauded.

Yeah.

And I have to say

that in the EU there is a real sight

of relief, actually, and it is not

that it is one of those occasions

where it is an EU Summit E is a

waltz out the door and they ally,

did you see what... -- and she walks

out the door and they are like, did

you see what she did... I will do

that many times over the next few

months. They didn't do it this time.

They were like, oh my god, you know,

they took about someone who has a

couple of cahoonas and they think

she has found a way out of a tough

situation. They were so taken aback

by the DUP phone call she received

while in Brussels just a few days

before and the people in the room

describe it in such awestruck tones,

like "We saw her as if her

government was going to crumble

around her" you know, they were

taken by that. The fact sheet could

turn that around by, let's face it,

we will hear about Ireland later,

Keating became down the road, but

the fact that we have got past phase

one -- Keating became down the road.

The fact we have a real sight of

relief -- kicking the can down the

road. You know, I was still calling

people yesterday on a Sunday and I

am amazed they take my calls on

Sunday. I was marching in the

countryside on the phone talking

about, I was saying "Attitude

towards the UK, negative" no, are

sort of feeling buoyed by what

happened.

Interesting in the press

conference last week on Friday when

Jean-Claude Juncker came out with

Tusk to deliver the news to say

sufficient progress has been made

and he was falling over himself to

be nice.

Yeah. She was tough, smart,

polite negotiator, you know.

It is

awful, isn't it? Who in the audience

has got a cahoonas impression for

later?

Dangerous territory.

Someone

might come up to kiss you because

that would be a good impression,

wouldn't it?

Or maybe he will hug

you for ages and not let go.

It was

interesting. Politically for her, I

think, last week the Monday to

Friday to Monday to Friday made me

think that actually this process is

just going to be like this and it is

something ministers have been saying

for ages, it is just going to be

like this, it will be really hard

and we are going to go from the top

of the Himalayas down to 20,000

Leagues under the Sea and then I

began...

Is the Imperial?

Am not sure. I

think for that process, it is going

to be like that.

Also, in this

feeling that we are progressing,

definitely you feel. We are going

back to the same rhetoric from right

at the beginning which is Brussels

saying we need to hear from the UK

what they want, which is what we

heard at the beginning of phase one.

We are back again there now. The

mood is different, positive, can do

and yet they are saying we want a

deal with you guys but you have to

come back to us with a clear idea of

what you want. They are focused on

today and tomorrow without believing

they are going to get the answer.

And you know how I celebrate? It

doesn't involve the pub. I got stuck

in a lift with 18 other journalists

stop it only for a couple of minutes

but it felt like a couple of hours.

Is that fake news?

No, it is real.

What was the conversation?

It was,

how long are we going to be in here?

Were you waiting for key moments or

was it afterwards?

What happens is

that there are bits of the building

that was on the down, we went to the

ground floor which was locked down.

I tried to lighten the mood by

asking everyone what Donald Tusk's

favourite Christmas movie was. It

didn't really work.

Remind me not to

invite you to play in New Year's Eve

party.

What is your favourite

Christmas film then?

I don't know.

I

like the holiday. Can we have a

brief confectionery moment are

looking at the table in front of us?

It has been known to have a little

cake or sweet, but we have a

selection here.

These look like they

have been bought from the

supermarket down the road.

Presumably we will hand these

around.

Air. Let's hand these out.

-- air. -- yeah.

Look at this!

Amazing.

While you settle down...

Thank you William. Cheers.

Other

biscuit brands are available.

While

we are digesting our biscuits, we

have our first Christmas treat for

you all. As you know I have a deep

and special relationship with

Michelle Barnier.

Do you have it

with him or act him? -- at.

He

probably avoids all corridors.

No,

as you will see my colleagues have

made a better video.

-- bantz.

Very good.

By the time we get to

March 2019 he is going to be running

away from new.

The other day when we

arrived, I was the first person and

he shook my hand because I think he

was relieved... That it was you?

Know, the whole historical process

was reaching a milestone. --

INAUDIBLE.

-- no.

I saw the pictures of that meeting.

He was running away.

He shakes your

hand and you shake his hand and he

carries on, speeding up, speeding

up. IM teasing.

He has much longer

legs of.

This is emblematic of the

Brexit process. You can see the same

scene and interpret it in two

different ways.

If you are listening

to us live or as a pod cast

conventionally, you can see Adam's

Brexit video on the BBC News Channel

and the website. Now, shall we get

into our questions from the floor

from our fantastic assembly of

Brexitcaster to have come a long.

Thank you for doing that. Let's see

if we can get the microphone to

Sally. Fire away.

Thanks having

asked. On Thursday 's question time

Professor Robert Winston said there

was a minor chance Brexit wouldn't

happen without considering the

likelihood of it, how would or could

this practically happen? Will not

happen?

That sounds like a question

for an editor.

As he said, I think

it is very unlikely, don't forget

both of the parties voted for

Article 50 and the process to make

it happen. I suppose you can see a

situation, if there was a sudden and

very clear reversal of public

opinion, which might be the type of

thing which would come about is

something serious happened to the

economy or some bust up in the talks

or all is kind of things that we

cannot imagine, but you would see

some scenario that would really have

to change public opinion and only in

that case would you see any other

politicians in either the Labour

Party or the Tory party feel that it

was the thing to say hold on, let's

have another think about this. So I

think it is very unlikely but

politics has been so volatile in the

last couple of years, it is not

impossible to imagine that is

something we haven't anticipated yet

happens, then you could find a

political way to stop it because I

think not only is the Article 50

process unclear as to whether or not

it is reloadable mother has been a

lot of chatter. -- revoke. But from

a political point of view, if many,

lots of the mainstream vibe was that

we don't want this any more, they

would find a way to stop it. The EU

wouldn't make us do it.

Absolutely,

from the UK perspective, the EU

Referendum was not legally binding.

It happened and it has come

political reality but it is not

legally binding. Article 50 is

legally binding, we have started the

formal process and after two years,

unless there is a unanimous vote, be

it the UK plus the member states and

the European Parliament could vote

to extend the negotiating period but

otherwise in March 2019 the UK

leads. Up until that point, the UK

can change its mind. After that

point, when there is talk about you

can vote in the 2020 election on the

Brexit deal, we are out. Britain can

vote and decide what it likes but

actually we have left the European

Union at that stage and we would

have to apply to come back in. If we

are talking in theory or practice

all likelihood, were there to be

this huge event that everybody,

including the EU, there is a feeling

that in the UK there is a conspiracy

to keep us in the. Whoever you talk

to on the European political field

would love the UK to stay. Believes

the UK is leaving. Say there was

this amazing reversal, under what

circumstances would we come back?

Actually, again when you talk to the

commission they say we can change

our mind while in the Article 50

process but by launching it we have

lost everything that we have gained,

if you like. That means the rebate,

not signing up to the euro and all

of that. That would be really

intriguing from an academic point of

use.

It would have to be so big, if

you think it was the biggest

democratic event, the biggest

exercise of peoples will and vote

for a long time, so politicians

would have to be really, really sure

that they had a chunky majority of

the public on side if they were to

stop that.

A quick question to use.

-- to use. What I and conscious of,

is while we are in West and stuck on

a huge amount of the brain space of

Westminster is taken up by Brexit. I

wonder, went as Brexit sit on the

conversations of the European Union

when there are so much else that

they need to talk about? Wee

Karabakh Brexit, how Marx is Brexit

the dominating conversation in

Brussels?

This will make us feel

bad.

I think it dominates more time

than they would like to admit. OK?

Jean-Claude Juncker at a fume and is

a -goer said, no one I would do my

imitation. -- Jean-Claude Juncker.

He said from now on we will dedicate

50 minutes per day to Brexit and no

more.

It was a week? No 15 minutes.

No, 15 minutes per week.

This is not

the case. It is just not the case.

The UK is a very big member state

and we are leaving and that has

implications for the whole of the

rest of the EU. Early in 2017 there

was this feeling of, this is awful,

we are going to dust ourselves down

and be stronger forward. We are

going to be more unified than ever,

we are not. Those cracks will show

in phase two because they are not

unified about the kind of deal that

they want to have all prepared to

give with the United Kingdom. How

many rules are they prepared to

bend? When it comes out of it I

think it will be fascinating for all

of us because the EU is good at

saying this is it. As I say, it is

ish. A lot of people will be seeing

a lot of ishes and those will

disturb this unified front that they

have managed to maintain until now

because they wanted the money. That

is what the UK wants, right?

You

haven't even written anything down

for this.

In all of this, saying

that Brexit is a big deal they have

other big issues, the future of the

European Union and what will happen

to Angela Merkel because Germany is

so key. I think these are really,

sort of, big issues for them and

plus what is really interesting to

me is that all the new alliances

that are forming inside the EU. We

have gone, who are our traditional

allies? Ireland, Denmark, Sweden,

the Baltic states copy who are they

now making friends with? The

assumption that is that we go and

Germany and become stronger and I

think a lot of these eurosceptic

countries are banding together.

You

mention Germany, you mentioned --

where is Nina? You worked in think

tanks, where are you now? Obviously

you are an observer at the moment.

When you look at the European press

and media and Germany in particular.

I am German, yeah.

How does it go

down in Germany?

Think that the

public is not actually that

interested in it. They thought it

was a disastrous thing, but for

those who are interested, the German

interpretation of the EU is, here

are the laws, you tell us which ones

you want and then we will decide

what model you get. The entire

process of anything getting here to

face on being completed from the

German perspective, they were

bemused by it. It is like, why isn't

Theresa May honest with her public?

This is what they signed up to. I

think they were slightly bemused

about it, but where it is quite

feisty is in some of the comment

pieces. I think there was one

recently where a very famous German

comment author wrote that this is

the stupidest decision since the

euro made its voice.

In the most

widely read newspaper it said by by

Whitey.

-- Blighty.

I think the Germans are rather

bemused. They find it quite cute,

the Royal family and so on. But they

think they have this weird culture

of exceptionalism which on one hand

they like the Brits but on the other

hand, they don't.

I wonder if it is

things like when they hear about how

many sugars does David Davis have.

Somebody told me it was five, but

then another said it was seven.

Time

for an experiment.

We are going to

do a taste test.

In goes another one

the. -- number one. This is

Brexitcast live, a slightly

unconventional approach.

While you

are doing this, we will listen to

something because this week Michel

Barnier's team punish De Marchi

published a dossier of those who

were worried that citizens or write.

If you are staying in the UK after

Brexit, they did a list of questions

that. He will take it in a minute.

Have a listen to this. Go onto a

drink it now! Down the hatch.

Don't!

Quite horrible. It doesn't all

dissolve. There is still stuff in

the bottom still.

I expect something

to happen to that search, like in

the Hulk.

When Chris Mason has seven sugars,

he turns into Chris Mason. Nice?

Disgusting.

Nice to drink the fuel

of the Brexit negotiator.

It might

all be tied in with something else

because before he became a

politician, David Davies worked for

Tate and Lyle, guaranteeing his own

pension.

You know what I love about

five or seven sugar is, there is a

phrase introduced into parlance when

it comes to EU documents, they call

them Davies proof or not Davies

proof, meaning agreeing to

conditions on a divorce deal and

then coming to a BBC Sunday

programme and saying, actually, it

is not legally binding, which, at

that time, as the audience is

watching, there is quite a big

audience watching over there as well

who are jumping up and down and

going...

Do they watch it, do they

pay attention to what is happening

here?

You ask, do they care about

Brexit? Yes, they do. We go for the

secret squirrel chats and everything

and we said, so how do you feel

about, and they are just apoplectic

sometimes, really, that colour

purple, and they say, do you think

we don't read the Sunday Times, the

Financial Times?

Someone told me

outright one of the reasons that

there was not sufficient progress in

phase one at the October summit was

Boris Johnson's article in the

paper.

Oh, definitely. That

absolutely put fear into the hearts

of people who were trying to make

the process work. Suddenly one of

the most famous people in UK

politics, the chief cheerleader for

the Brexit campaign, putting his own

personal manifesto for what the

world should look like after Brexit

into a newspaper because he was

cross and it made people panic about

whether the government was united or

not.

Shall we go to another

question?

Where is Madeleine? Rather

than your question, I heard a rumour

you try to get a passport from

another country.

No.

Not yet.

Depending on the answer.

No one is

allowed to boo.

Sorry, I was

misinformed.

My husband is Irish. We

have two kids and we always thought

we would get them Irish passports.

We are now seriously considering

putting in the application. We

haven't quite bought a house in

Dublin. We are getting there.

Why

are you thinking of doing that?

We

see ourselves as European and then

as European and the idea of leaving

the EU and feeling out of Europe is

incomprehensible and we don't want

to live in a little immigrant. We

want to live in the EU.

You are

sitting next to someone who might be

bristling, Darren Grimes.

I see

myself as European. What I don't see

myself as being part of this

European superstate. The United

Kingdom, global Britain, Boris

Johnson's treaters in the Telegraph

is the sort of vision I think the UK

should be going for. It is hard not

to stress how important the Brexit

war Cabinet meeting was today and it

will change for generations the

history, the track of this country

and what it goes down and I think I

should be a part in which we have an

independent trade policy and get out

into the world because that is where

the growth is.

Madeleine is not

bristling.

I am bristling inside. My

husband told me not to be too vocal.

Oh, come on!

It is Tony Connelly

from RT, come on up.

Looks like a

chat show now.

APPLAUSE. .

Welcome, Tony.

What is it called?

Never mind, we're not paying you.

Brexitcast Live, didn't we tell you?

I won't plug my Brexit and Ireland.

Did you carry in a box of

chocolates?

No, there are enough

calories on the table as it is.

You

are of course the Europe editor for

RTE, the Irish public broadcaster,

and you are quite a necessary part

of the process a couple of weeks

ago.

Yes. I am happy to talk about

it. The day that Theresa May came to

Brussels for lunch with Jean-Claude

Juncker it had been around for days

of fraught negotiations between the

British, Irish and EU officials

about the deal on the Irish border.

The Irish government was downbeat on

Monday morning. Mid-morning I was

able to get sight of part of the

deal, part of the text on Ireland,

and I got a second source to confirm

the text. I put out two tweets, RTE

ran the story, the first tweet said

there would be no regulatory

divergences according to a draft

seen by RT News, followed up four

minutes later saying no regulatory

divergences be changed to continued

regular tree-lined. These are quite

wonky phrase as I understand. --

regular alliance. My understanding

is the DUP saw that story coming

from me, assumed I had been briefed

by the Irish government, that it was

claiming victory in the process, and

I think at that point a certain

discontent in the DUP had built up

and exploded. And that seems to have

brought the whole text crashing

down. At that moment, to put it

politely, all heck broke loose.

And

then MEPs came on the record saying

the same thing. They said on tape

the UK government has conceded. For

the DUP it was piling on the pain

that you have brought on social

media. The idea that the northern

Irish would stay in the customs

union and single market was floated

in a task force working paper in

early November. It brought a harsh

response from the government to say

there is no way the UK government

could countenance something that

would put Northern Ireland on a

different footing from the rest of

the UK so when I heard that

something along those lines was in

the text and the person I spoke to

say this is stunning, this is

astonishing they have agreed to

this, that was why we felt that this

appeared to be a concession by the

British government. Of course in the

zero-sum atmosphere of northern

Irish politics, to the DUP it was

too far and they were not having it.

And through the course of the week

Theresa May knew that she would not

get that through the DUP. And also

she could not get it through the

Brexit parts of the party. That is

really what it was proxy for. The

issue of Ireland and the border is

vital and important. It is also in

the context of the Westminster end

of things and how Theresa May copes

with the strands of her party. It

became a proxy for the whole row

which is basically, as the War

Cabinet would have been discussing

today, how closely should we stick

to the EU rules and regulations

after we leave. In the Cabinet and

the Tory party there are two very

different views. The buzzword is

diverted OK. The hot debate of 2018

will be over divergences. Once we

are out, if everyone agrees we are

out, as we discussed, should we

mirror the EU, because that is what

businesses want, they want minimal

disruption, or should we go off, be

completely free to do our own thing

and only agree with the EU rules

when it suits us.

Listeners to 5

Live will notice we have diverged

from drive, moving to Brexitcast.

And a nerdy question in your

direction, Tony, how freaked out is

island by Brexit and the potential

ramifications for Ireland if it

doesn't turn out as Dublin might

want?

And is it all souls?

No.

Freaked out, yeah, on a scale of

freaked outness, we are out on top,

it is the Good Friday agreement, the

peace process, the inflated economy

between Ireland and the UK, vast

volumes of food, a high Brexit will

hurt Ireland badly. It will also

affect the border, which is now back

in Irish politics, which is a real

tragedy, because it was gone from

Irish politics for 20 years since

the Good Friday agreement, so it is

a huge worry.

Now, Matt, you work in

Number Ten, you are from Northern

Ireland, and you were on with

Brexitcast a couple of weeks ago

talking about this, so have the

government been surprised, were they

too late, or was it always a problem

that was bubbling away in the

basement and they thought they could

come to it later on?

It is true to

say before the referendum in 2016

and then for the first six to ten

months post- referendum period the

Irish issues, the entire Ireland, as

Tony talked about, Northern Ireland

specifically and the issues

affecting the whole Ireland, they

were not front and centre of the

debate, and the Downing Street

agenda is often driven by what is at

the top of the news agenda. It

wasn't that people did not take it

seriously. But the Irish government

made a decision, as Tony knows, to

drive it front to the news agenda to

get people's attention.

And we

picked up talking to members of the

Irish government, but also some

elements, people who come to visit

from Northern Ireland, the feeling

that Downing Street didn't

understand, they felt this is not

just an economic issue, but also

political and very much a social

issue. The fact that talk of the

border disappeared and now it is

front and centre. And real concern

about that and real worry that it

wasn't being taken on board. And I

think the rest of the EU was

tempted, even though they said from

the beginning this has to be one of

the main divorce issues, it was

always around, I think they were

willing to let it slide a little bit

interface to as the UK government

wanted. The Irish government made

sure that didn't happen -- into

phase two. Ireland has been given,

and I know Ireland doesn't like it

said that it has veto, but it does

have a veto.

It is an implied veto.

If it is good enough for Dublin, it

is good enough for the rest of the

EU when it comes...

We are running

out of time. I was teasing you with

a Jeremy Vine special. We have

Jeremy Vine reading out some of the

questions in the European Commission

Q&A at our citizens' rights which

sounds like a problem page in a

magazine. Have a listen to this.

I

am a Korean spouse, and came to the

UK four years ago to live with my EU

husband, but the marriage hit a

rough patch recently. I want to file

for divorce, but I am afraid what it

will mean for my right of residence

post-Brexit. I live and work in the

UK with my partner. We plan to have

a baby soon. Should we accelerate

our plans and have the baby before

Brexit? I live and work in the UK. I

am single. Hopefully one day I will

marry. Realistically, it will be

after Brexit. Will my future spouse

be able to join in the UK and what

if we have a baby?

Yes, the Q&A for

people worried about their rights

after Brexit. It was deep.

Very

deep.

It affects lots of

relationships now in the UK, like,

how did you vote, it is a date in

question.

Absolutely, and it is

happening, and in that sense a lot

of the post- referendum conversation

is playing out in ugly ways, with

the debate last week when the

government was defeated on one of

the members in the Brexit Withdrawal

Bill going through, yet another long

and complicated process happening in

parliament rather than the

complicated process happening in

negotiating rooms of Brussels.

Whenever things low art over Brexit

in parliament, it gets pretty nasty

-- blowup over Brexit in parliament,

it gets pretty nasty.

I reckon a

little experiment among the audience

with a show of hands, picking up on

the theme of the extent to which

Brexit is a dominating conversation,

I wonder how often when you are

having an ordinary conversation, as

opposed to nerdy conversation, that

the issue of Brexit comes up and

there is a row among friends or

family or whatever. Port of your

hand if it is still happening. Is it

still happening? -- put up your hand

if it is still happening. By the

way, a quick cup of tea update, it

gets no better.

Does it get more

sugary?

We are very impressed you

haven't spat at your microphone.

Are

you sure it is actually shorter?

-- sugar?

Will Donnelly, what's your

question?

Will Britain get Brexit in

anything other than name?

We have

Davis Brough and Brexino, the people

who are dubbed Brexinos by Tory

colleagues, those who have been

complaining and amending and trying

to change the legislation, that's

what the Cabinet is trying to figure

out today and tomorrow, so at the

moment we don't know. One member of

Cabinet said to me ten days ago,

well, we may end up like Norway,

paying a lot of money to pretend we

are not in the EU. Or it may well be

that the Brexit side of the argument

wins the debate and of course it

does not just depend on them but it

also depends what the EU is ready to

give way or compromise on in the

negotiations.

Two things I say is on paper right

now it looks like Theresa May's hope

of getting the best of both, having

cake and eating it,... I have had

jammed Dodgers. It looks like her

hope of getting the best of both,

not having Brexit in name that

having advantage is, that looks

very, very, very hard. But it is

important to say a few months ago it

looks as though what she wanted to

get in phase one will very hard and

in the end it you got compromised.

Yes, of course the UK coughed up the

money but the EU compromised a bit.

Do you think we will get it in

anything but named?

I think we will

leave but will go from the position

to half in 2/2 hour.

What does that

mean few?

Disgraceful. Because we

voted to leave the EU and become a

self-governing nation and I think

that we are seeing is the Trail is

happening before our very eyes.

Anybody agree or disagree with that?

I was having a conversation with a

close remaining friend of mine, he

is an honourable chap, but then

failed tweeted out -- Raphael.

Parliamentary remainers,

parliamentary scrutiny, jolly good,

remainers outside on the public on

Twitter, great, fantastic,

brilliant. Back to parliamentary

remainers, you are not helping.

There is an understanding from

Brexiteer s, the Anna Soubry 's of

this world, that is their intention.

She pretends, I get very offended

when people think she is trying to

stop Brexit but wants to be in the

single market and Customs union, if

you are in those you have to obey

all of the laws of the EU and have a

tariff structure and you cannot have

your own trade deals. That is in the

EU, in reality.

Even if we are out.

Can I ask both of you, normally in

Parliament MPs make changes, they

liked bits and vote against it. Do

you think because this is a result

of the referendum that it feels

different? You don't want MPs to do

what they see as their normal job.

I

think Brexiteers are cynical about

this argument of working

parliamentary scrutiny from both

sides of both political parties who

want to go back to a situation where

the legislation just passes through

with a nod and a wink and directors

don't touch Parliament. There is a

cynicism and I think it is very

justified because I think they are

pretty much semi open about what

they want to do. Even Dominic

grieve, who comes across as a man of

integrity, he is up for delaying.

This amendment going through gives

the Lords a chance to delay and it

is in the hope of wanting the public

opinion to turn around.

Through.

There is definitely suspicion on all

sides of.

Where is hand, she has a

very good question.

-- Ann.

I think it is only just beginning

because all trade agreement require

regular Tory alignment. I work in

financial services and you have seen

global alignment, as well as within

Europe. From a business perspective,

the idea that you will suddenly run

off and do something completely

different, nobody is that interested

from the business perspective anyway

because they put the current

processes in place. But secondly I

think there is a degree of realism

that if we want to trade in the

future we are going to have to

continue to work in a similar

system. It then becomes a question

of, where do you have your say? The

EU is a very powerful status sat

around the world.

What was your

question?

Has romance blossomed in

the discussion room when the leaders

pull an all-night?

I have never been

in a less... Well I have been in

less romantic places. I would

imagine, it ranks it up there. It is

a massive open plan, neon lit room

full of great looking journalist who

get more grey as the summit

progresses and by the time you get

to that 2am German press briefing I

think any little bit that might have

existed...

I was in the lift for two

hours.

The other thing is that when

I first went to summit, it used to

be and it is now not the case, thank

goodness, it was the case that booze

was free during summits, which when

I first went I thought was

absolutely quiet mind blowing. They

ruled that out a while ago. Any hope

that there might have been that it

could have been wheeled along by the

free Belgian beer...

Bring in the

trolley!

And typecast and it four

hour news has put an end to any of

that press behaviour.

I am hearing

in my ear that actually have some

breaking news, do you recall a

couple of weeks ago you reminded us

of what you did in a previous life

when you told Austrian children the

benefits of learning English? We

managed to find footage of you doing

it. Looked up on the screen and you

will see it. We will post it on

Twitter. Let's see.

Children were

always important, the show makes

learning English fun, not only on

radio but also in the classroom.

Huckle the cat visited hundreds of

schools throughout the provinces,

bringing very fun and happy laughter

to English lessons.

Does that bring

back happy memories?

I have to tell

you the funniest memories of. The

cat was a British man, these were

Austrian schools. We used to often

visit three schools are gay and in

particular, in this particular case

we went to an Austrian Catholic boys

boarding school and Huckle used to

get very hot inside his costume, so

he always used to carry a final with

him to have a little wash. He would

ask the schools if he could have a

changing room where he could have a

wash and change are pretty dam the

hokey pokey. Am I a really going to

tell this story? This is the third

school of the day and he went off

and I wasn't there, a have to tell

you, he told me the story

afterwards. He went there and it was

a chemistry lab and he stood there,

he said he didn't even take off the

costume, he unzipped it, put on a

tap to wash what he described as his

family jewels. Right back at which

point a class of 21 13 -year-olds

Catholic schoolboys and their priest

chemist master walked into the

chemistry lab. He walked out of

their. I could just see the no local

newspaper, British cat exposes

himself.

Within sites like that what

better chance for us to say if you

are new to Brexitcast, please do

download us for your pod cast. For

further such insights from the top

RAS of BBC journalism on a weekly

basis.

Will you be having a wash

after this, Chris?

I think what we

are going to do in the last minute

or so, 2018 in a minute. What

happens next? Katya Adler after your

masterclass of storytelling, we will

turn to Laura first.

Legal version

of the phase one agreement talks

about transition, the UK wants to

get it done by much but we don't

know if that will happen. The big

thing, it heads of terms, the main

thrust of the agreement should be

done in the autumn, that is quite a

timetable.

And across the Channel?

If they are not doing the same thing

then that is a big problem.

January

is seen as a rest months. At the end

of January Michel Barnier will get

his remit to discuss transition and

we started off about the

relationship. Important to know that

we are not getting is a trade deal.

Impossible under EU regulations. As

much progress will be made as

possible but nothing signed on a

future trade deal.

Bank you all.

Thanks to all of our Brexitcasters

that came here and thank you for

listening on the news channel.

And

leave us a review and thank our

audience!

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