"The European Union has rejected a request from the British government for a Brexit deal without an Irish backstop.
Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay on Thursday said the UK should be given until the end of 2020 to come up with a replacement for the policy – instead of the end-of-September deadline set by EU leaders.
The minister travelled to Brussels on Friday to meet with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator – but was told that the EU could not consider a deal that did not include a backstop or replacement.
Following the meeting, a spokesperson for the European Commission told reporters that it is “essential that there is a fully workable and legally operational solution included in the withdrawal agreement."
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-deal-irish-backstop-border-boris-johnson-eu-barnier-stephen-barclay-a9113451.html
I get the impression that people go out of their way to find things that can be used to beat up others, and to deliberately take, ( fake ? ), offence where none was ever intended, just to show how "sensitive" they are to the 'issues'.