Brexit: Michel Barnier says the "backstop" must stay

The EU's top negotiator, Michel Barnier says the "backstop" must stay to keep an open border in Ireland

The EU's lead Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson's demands for the Irish backstop to be scrapped.

The Irish backstop is a way of avoiding a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, that means there wouldn't need to be fences and passport checks between the two countries.

However, the backstop means that Northern Ireland would be different to the rest of the UK because it would have different rules for things like trading.

The backstop is important because the Republic of Ireland is a member of the European Union, while Northern Ireland is part of the UK which is set to leave the EU.

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson says the backstop plan needs to be ditched if the EU wants to avoid a no-deal Brexit. But the PM has also promised to take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal on 31 October.

Some people say Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament will make a Brexit no-deal more likely

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Michel Barnier said he's "not optimistic about avoiding a no-deal scenario." And, in order to avoid a hard border, the backstop was the "maximum flexibility" the EU could offer to a country outside of the European Union.

Thousands of people took to the streets across Britain on Saturday, protesting against a no-deal Brexit and Boris Johnson's plan to suspend Parliament.