We may need to stay in the EU, says DUP

THE DUP last night said it was prepared for Brexit to be cancelled altogether.

Deputy leader Nigel Dodds said the UK should stay in the EU if that was only way to preserve Northern Ireland’s place in the union. ‘I would stay in the European Union and remain rather than risk Northern Ireland’s position,’ he insisted. ‘That’s how strongly I feel about the union.’

Despite the DUP’s stance, talks are continuing between ministers and the party in a bid to get its support for a possible fourth vote on the withdrawal agreement.

Ministers have warned that continued opposition could lead to a united Ireland. One said: ‘They are being incredibly stupid. If they carry on like this they are going to end up with a united Ireland – and frankly they will deserve it.’

All ten DUP MPs voted against the deal for the third time, despite rumours earlier this week that they would swing round in support. And yesterday the party urged the Government to return to Brussels to demand changes that would make the backstop acceptable to Parliament.

Mr Dodds said the EU’s resistance to amending the withdrawal agreement must be challenged by the Prime Minister.

The EU has made it clear it will not look again at the backstop. A Cabinet minister

‘Could end up with a united Ireland’

said Northern Ireland faced an ‘existential threat’ because No Deal makes a referendum on the province’s future more likely.

‘If it’s no deal, there’ll be a border poll and Northern Ireland will disappear,’ the minister told The Sun. ‘If there’s a general election and Corbyn wins, the same. It’s time the DUP woke up and smelt the coffee. They’re facing an existential threat.’

The DUP remained firm yesterday, with the party’s Twitter account saying: ‘The backstop has always been the problem.

‘The backstop remains the problem. Use the time constructively to deal with it.’

Mr Dodds said his party had ‘consistently and repeatedly’ made clear it would not support the withdrawal agreement unless the backstop protocol was changed.

The North Belfast MP said: ‘We have said that were the backstop to become operational, Northern Ireland would sit in a separate legal position from the rest of the UK in economic and trade terms.’

‘In those circumstances, there is the strong possibility that we could have a long-term outcome whereby Northern Ireland would inevitably pull away from its biggest trading market in Great Britain as there would be new internal barriers within the United Kingdom.’