Ireland’s deputy prime minister has flatly ruled out any "keyhole surgery" on Theresa May’s Brexit deal, as he warned that Brexiteers who support untested alternatives to the Irish backstop were indulging in "wishful thinking".

Last week it was reported that EU officials had considered carrying out "keyhole surgery" on the Withdrawal Agreement, with small tweaks made to the text which would reassure British MPs that the backstop was only a temporary measure. 

But on Monday afternoon, Simon Coveney said Ireland could not allow any changes to be made to the Irish backstop as it was the only way to guarantee that there would not be a hard border in Ireland immediately after Brexit. 

Asked by reporters…