The DUP have said they would reject the PM Brexit deal after they reacted badly to May’s letter which covered her Brexit plan.
The letter, which was leaked to The Times, suggested that the border would begin in the Irish sea, leaving Northern Ireland in limbo. The DUP believe that Number ten is giving into the EU demands making them agree to a ‘backstop’ which could see N.Ireland having a different deal to UK.
In the letter, seen by The Times, Ms May reportedly says: “I am clear that I could not accept there being any circumstances or conditions in which that ‘backstop to the backstop’, which would break up the UK customs territory, could come in to force.”
Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s Brexit spokesperson to Sky News: “If she continues down the road of bringing something forward which is unacceptable to a large part of her own party and ourselves, then I think the inevitable consequence is that it will be voted down in the House of Commons.”
The PM relies on the DUP to ensure a Commons majority.
Wilson said: “She is now contemplating signing up to a legal agreement which, regardless to her aspirations, would be binding on the government of the UK. Secondly, it would be a legal agreement which the government of the UK could not walk away from – that could only be broken if the government in the UK and the EU agreed to it being changed.”
The DUP leader, Arlene Foster, tweeted: “The PM’s letter raises alarm bells for those who value the integrity of our precious union & for those who want a proper Brexit for the whole UK. From her letter, it appears the PM is wedded to the idea of a border down the Irish Sea with NI in the EU SM [single market] regulatory regime.”
