The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has rejected Theresa May’s suggested plans for a customs border down the Irish Sea.
Following a leaked letter from Theresa May to DUP leader Arlene Foster, East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson has accused the Prime Minister of “total betrayal”.
“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,” Wilson told Sky News.
“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,” he added.
In the letter, which was leaked to the Times, May admitted that the EU was pushing a Northern Ireland-only backstop arrangement alongside a UK-wide solution.
May wrote in the letter: “They want to maintain a Northern Ireland-only ‘backstop to the backstop’ in case the future negotiations are unsuccessful.”
“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 into force.”
“That is why it is critical that the provision for a UK-EU joint customs territory is legally binding in the Withdrawal Agreement itself, so that no ‘backstop to a backstop’ is required.”
Foster also commented on the letter and tweeted on Friday: “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.”
Despite issues surrounding the Irish border, the government has suggested Brexit deals are almost finalised.