Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SF: Ireland will not be collateral damage for May
MARY Lou Mcdonald said yesterday Ireland must not become collateral damage amid the “Tory civil war over Brexit”.
The Sinn Fein president was speaking after meeting business leaders in Belfast along with vice president Michelle O’neill.
She made the warning as the Westminster Government of Theresa May appeared in turmoil following the resignations of Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
Ms Mcdonald said: “Our sole priority is the protection of Irish interests north and south.
“The civil war within the Tory Party is a matter for the Tories, and let no one imagine Ireland will be the collateral damage for the Tory Brexit or that we will pick up the tab for the Tory civil war.”
The Sinn Fein leader also warned the UK should not “persist with a strategy that is about brinkmanship”.
She added: “We need an answer to the Irish question, Europe has provided that answer by way of the Irish protocol.
“Mrs May seems still to be at sixes and sevens and in terms of what her Government’s position is.
“They say they are leaving the customs union and the single market. We know that the stated objectives of protecting the Good Friday Agreement – avoiding a hardening of the border, protecting citizens’ rights – demands that specific arrangements are agreed for the north of Ireland.
“We didn’t choose Brexit, Brexit is a British phenomenon and Mrs May, or whoever the prime minister is, needs to keep their word and their stated position in protecting the Good Friday Agreement.”
Ms Mcdonald also insisted her party is ready for a snap General Election if it comes to that.
She said: “We are always ready for elections, more so than any political party not only in Ireland but across these islands.”
Meanwhile, Arlene Foster was pictured enjoying the tennis in the Royal Box at Wimbledon as the Brexit storm rumbled on.
The leader of the DUP, which is in a coalition with Theresa May’s government, failed to comment on yesterday’s dramatic developments.