The British government is slowly realizing that leaving the European Union is “an act of great self-harm,” according to Ireland’s top Brexit official. John Callinan, who heads a team of officials charged with co-ordinating the Irish government’s Brexit response, told a Brexit seminar organized by Irish trade unions that “I see signs in the contacts that we’re having, both at EU level and with the U.K., of a gradual realization that Brexit in many ways is an act of great self-harm, and that the focus now is on minimizing that self-harm.” He also highlighted the existence of internal divisions on the British side just weeks out from the start of formal withdrawal negotiations with the EU, saying it was clear there was “no single, settled position” on Brexit in London, adding: “Even within the British government, there are very different views.”
