sinn Fein warn May over watering down irish ‘backstop’ pact

THERE can be no rowing back from the agreed backstop preventing a hard border, Sinn Fein claimed yesterday.

Mary Lou Mcdonald spoke out as fears were growing Britain plans to reach a Brexit deal without honouring its commitments.

The party leader criticised Prime Minister Theresa May for her insistence the backstop should be shelved in place of a temporary extension to the UK’S departure from the EU.

Ms Mcdonald said such a proposal would be in breach of last December’s deal and of the Good Friday Agreement.

Earlier yesterday, Mrs May told Westminster there may be limited circumstances when it is in Britain’s interest to agree to a short extension to the transition period after it leaves the EU in March 2019, which on present plans is due to run until December 2020.

She said it would be an alternative to activating the so-called Northern Ireland “backstop”.

And she stressed that in any circumstances the transition would have to be over “well before” the end of Parliament in June 2022.

However, Ms Mcdonald said this is totally unacceptable and that the backstop could not

be temporary. She added: “Mrs May still fails to grasp the fundamentals. Ireland is a special case. The backstop to protect Irish interests cannot and will not be temporary. “The British Prime Minister reports progress has been made on the withdrawal agreement. She may reflect again on the fact there will be no agreement in the absence of a comprehensive and enduring backstop. “The fact is Theresa May signed up to the Irish backstop in December. “It cannot be negotiated downwards, watered down or bargained off in return for a longer transitional period. “It must be built on to ensure our rights are protected and translated into legally-binding text as part of any withdrawal agreement. “The integrity of our peace process is at stake and the onus is on the Dublin Government and the EU 27 to ensure there is no resiling from the backstop.” Meanwhile, MPS from all sides have blasted the violent language aimed at Mrs May over the weekend. Anonymous Tory Brexiteers were quoted as saying she should “bring a noose” to a meeting while another added: “Assassination is in the air.” Mrs May told the Commons: “It is incumbent on all of us in public life to be careful about the language we use.”