Ahead of Boris Johnson’s likely election next week as Britain’s prime minister, EU countries are secretly wooing him in a bid to thrash out a new Brexit plan that would avoid a no-deal disaster, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. Senior Irish politicians and diplomats have held talks with two of Johnson’s cabinet allies in recent days, it said. German and French figures as well as the Dutch and Belgian governments have also established contact with Johnson’s team and signalled an intention to do a deal, it added. In a limited extract released on Saturday evening ahead of publication, the paper reported that Irish ... (full story)