Tusk mocks new PM’s ability to bluff as Barnier asks: is it an orderly Brexit, or a no deal?

Boris Johnson was put under pressure on his first day as prime minister by both Donald Tusk and Michel Barnier to explain “in detail” his Brexit plan.

In a curt letter of congratulations, Tusk, the European council president, made a thinly-veiled reference to Johnson’s reputation for bluffing his way through difficulties.

“I look forward to meeting you to discuss – in detail – our cooperation,” he wrote to Johnson.

The former prime minister of Poland, who has urged the UK to rethink its decision to leave the EU, has previously spoken of a “special place in hell” for “those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan”.

Barnier, who as the EU’s chief negotiator crafted the withdrawal agreement with Theresa May, said it was “a very important moment for Brexit”, with the UK due to leave the bloc with or without a deal in just three months.

On the steps of Downing Street, Johnson had vowed to lead the UK out of the EU, “no ifs, ands or buts” but Barnier conceded that he was unsure of the substance of Johnson’s plan to come to a deal with the EU on the terms of the UK’s departure.

“We look forward to hearing what the new prime minister, Boris Johnson, wants, what are the choices of the UK,” Barnier said, after his own consultations with the European parliament on the new British leadership.

“Is it an orderly Brexit? … Is it a no-deal Brexit? The no-deal Brexit will never be the choice of the EU, but we are prepared for an orderly Brexit. We will work along the next few weeks or months with the new UK government in the best possible way, in the very constructive spirit to facilitate the ratification of the withdrawal agreement.”

Quick guide Boris Johnson's to-do list Show Hide A cabinet reshuffle The first task of any new PM involves rewarding some loyal allies and disappointing more. Several Johnson loyalists have had their eye on the post of chancellor, but only one can do it. A complete clearout of May’s remain-minded ministers provided plenty of opportunity to reward the Brexit believers though. Brexit The issue that will define a Johnson premiership. He has promised to rapidly renegotiate almost all of May’s departure deal, ditching the Irish backstop border guarantee policy – something that would seem a huge task over any timescale, let alone little more than 12 weeks, a fair proportion of which is taken up by a summer break. If this fails, he will be set on a no-deal departure for 31 October, and a likely huge clash with MPs. Iran If Brexit wasn’t enough, a new Johnson government must immediately take steps to make sure he doesn’t begin his time in No 10 with a slide into war. The situation in the gulf is complex, fast-moving and hugely dangerous. Johnson did not cover himself in glory as foreign secretary, especially over Iran. It will be his task to prove he has learned. Managing parliament and Tory MPs Johnson will start as PM with a working Commons majority of four, thanks to the DUP, but within weeks it is likely to be down to three if as expected the Liberal Democrats win in the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection. If this wasn’t tricky enough, a small but significant section of Tory MPs openly detest Johnson, and will not want to help him out - and with his cabinet sackings, the ‘Gaukward squad’ of former senior cabinet members set on blocking a no-deal Brexit swelled in ranks. Loosening the purse strings Such was the fiscal largesse on display from both Johnson and Jeremy Hunt during the hustings process that much as he will seek to kick any decisions towards an autumn budget, voters – especially Tory members – will be expecting both tax cuts and more spending on areas such as education and the police. Everything non-Brexit This might sound glib, but there is a lot to consider – during the three-plus years of Brexit introversion May’s government failed to properly grasp any of a series of long-term, pressing national problems: the crisis in social care; the future of the NHS; a climate emergency; the increasingly insecure future of work; a broken housing market; rampant poverty, including among many working people. This is a huge workload for any new administration. Being prime ministerial Critics might say this is Johnson’s single biggest challenge. The leadership process has shown that while he endlessly harked back to supposed successes as London mayor – an often ceremonial role with relatively few powers – Johnson was notably quieter about his period as foreign secretary. Being prime minister is like the latter, to a factor of 10 – a never-ending succession of red boxes containing vital documents, of urgent briefings, of a whole system hanging on your decisions. Johnson has a tendency to ignore advice, pluck statistics out of the air and rely on sudden, cheap glibness. Curbing these long habits will be a daily struggle - his adopting the acronym 'Dude' in his victory speech shows just how hard it is for him. Peter Walker Political correspondent

Asked whether he knew what Johnson would seek from Brussels, Barnier said: “No. We are ready to listen and to work with him in a constructive way. We will wait for the new decision, the new declarations of the UK government.

“I met Boris Johnson once. We spoke once in the past. It was a very particular moment during the opening ceremony of the Olympics of London, fantastic games, so we are waiting now,” Barnier added. “We will work, we are ready, we will work. I think he is clever. I’m at the disposal of the union. We are ready to work [in August].”

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, sought to emphasise the ties between the UK and continental Europe, in a sign of the concern among some EU leaders at the burgeoning relationship between Johnson and the US president Donald Trump, who spoke the day before of his belief in the new prime minister.

In her letter to Johnson, Merkel wrote: “The ties between our countries are distinguished by deep friendship and close partnership.

“We are linked by personal ties between people, economic relations between companies, our common engagement for a rules-based international order and our common European heritage.”

Earlier in the day, the European parliament’s Brexit steering group held an “extraordinary meeting” to discuss the developments in London.

A statement from the MEPs, led by the former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, said recent comments “not least those made during the Conservative party leadership campaign, have greatly increased the risk of a disorderly exit of the UK”.

Johnson has said he wants to scrap the Irish backstop from the withdrawal agreement and hold back on paying the UK’s multi-billion-pound financial settlement until a free trade deal is agreed. He has warned that the UK must leave the EU by 31 October with or without a deal but that the economic impact of a no-deal Brexit would prove to be “vanishingly small”.

Verhofstadt told reporters that the EU would not countenance a fresh negotiation on arrangements to replicate key aspects of the withdrawal agreement and cushion the impact of a no-deal Brexit.

The EU insists that a stand-still transition period will be granted only if the withdrawal agreement, including the contentious backstop, is ratified by parliament.

Verhofstadt said: “Politicised language from the Conservative leadership raising the spectre of a no-deal Brexit is unhelpful, irresponsible and only increases the risks of a catastrophic severance, which could destabilise the global economy.

“We are united in the view that a no-deal exit will not be mitigated by any form of arrangements or mini-deals between the EU and the UK.

“Boris Johnson will find the European parliament an open and constructive partner. I look forward to alleviating Mr Johnson’s concerns regarding the imminent accession of Turkey to the EU, following the claims of the leave campaign, whilst explaining the EU has no rules on the packaging of kippers in the UK.”