William flies to N Ireland amid Brexit tensions

BELFAST: Prince William arrived in Northern Ireland on Wednesday as the British government seeks to reassure the once-troubled province at the centre of the Brexit drama that its hard-won stability will endure.

The hastily-arranged two-day visit by the second-in-line to the throne and his wife Kate comes as MPS argue over the terms of Brexit with just over a month to go until the scheduled departure date.

The royals began their trip with a visit to Windsor Park football stadium to find out about outreach programmes and the tour will include a meeting with a youth charity in the border region of Fermanagh.

Even though the royals tend to steer well clear of politics, their visits are often organised in conjunction with the government to assist Britain’s wider political and economic agenda at home and abroad.

The shock result of the 2016 EU membership referendum has forced the royals into diplomatic overdrive.

Not long after the referendum, William toured Canada, then Europe, in what was seen as a bridge-building exercise as Britain looks to retain old alliances with European and build new trade ties with the Commonwealth.

Strategic royal visits have multiplied since then. But the trip to Northern Ireland, where the IRA fought a bloody campaign against British rule for three decades until 1998, is a particularly sensitive mission.

Since the end of the conflict, residents of the province have become accustomed to a free-flowing border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state.

Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU by 56 per cent to 44 per cent but the United Kingdom as a whole voted to leave.

The future of the border — and in particular how to fulfil British and EU promises to keep it open — has been a flashpoint for Brexit divisions ever since.

There are fears on both sides of the Irish border that any disruption could undermine the peace process.

But many Conservative MPS are refusing to approve the draft Brexit deal on the table because they fear Britain would be trapped in an indefinite “backstop” arrangement with the EU to keep the border open. — AFP