DUP boss Arlene Foster threatens to block Brexit deal if Theresa May gives in to EU demands on Irish border

DUP boss Arlene Foster has today threatened to block Theresa May’s Brexit deal if she gives in to the EU over the Northern Ireland border.

Arlene Foster doubled down on her demands after talks with EU leaders today in Brussels – causing a huge headache for the Prime Minister who is working to solve the Brexit deadlock.

She remained defiant on her “red line” demands that she won’t accept a Brexit deal where Northern Ireland is treated any differently to the rest of the country.

Ms Foster said today: “We could not support any arrangement which would give rise to customs or reg barriers within the UK internal market.

“The ties between our two economies are so intricately linked that to put up barriers, tariff or non, would be economically disastrous for Northern Ireland.”

And she refused to answer questions on whether she would block the deal if her demands were not met.

But she did hint that any agreement which was time-limited could cause problems for her in future.

“We don’t know what will happen in five or 10 years’ time. We don’t want Northern Ireland going off in a different direction from the rest of the UK,” she said.

Some have suggested that the UK should stay aligned to EU rules for a period of time after we leave to solve the border issue.

The DUP boss revealed she has yet to see Mrs May’s new plan for Northern Ireland, which is supposedly in the works to try and break the stubborn deadlock in talks.

The PM has just days left to come to a deal that will please everyone before the crunch EU October summit.

There’s already an emergency November meeting pencilled in if they can’t get a deal sorted – but time is ticking to get it passed through the British Parliament and all the other EU government’s too in time for our March exit.

The DUP leader also ruled out one-way checks between the British mainland and Northern Irelan today, and said they wouldn’t accept anything which adds extra barriers in either direction.

“It has to be both ways,” she said today. “It’s not just a case of regulations between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, but also between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
“The Prime Minister understands that.”

Some in government and Brussels had thought statements which said there should be “no new regulatory barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom” would open them up to checks going into Northern Ireland from Britain instead.

Ms Foster’s tough words will heap pressure on Mrs May to come to a solution that works for her DUP allies – or they won’t prop up

The Northern Ireland party’s ten MPs are crucial for her in trying to get legislation through the House of Commons after the PM lost her majority in

EU boss Michel Barnier insisted today he was “working hard to explain and de-dramatise the backstop”.

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