Northern Ireland must never have powers for vote, ministers warned

The UK Government must "under no circumstances" devolve power for an independence referendum to Northern Ireland, ministers were warned as they faced calls to lay a path for the vote.

DUP MP Sammy Wilson called on the Westminster government to safeguard powers over an independence vote, warning allowing such polls for wales, scotland or northern Ireland would lead to" continual referendums until they got the result they wanted".

His claim came as the SDLP leader Colum Eastwood called on ministers to set out a path for "how the people of the north of Ireland can leave this United Kingdom".

The debate in the Commons followed the UK Supreme Court ruling that the Scottish Government can not hold a second independence referendum without the backing of Westminster.

East Antrim MP Mr Wilson told MPS: "The legal position is now clear, but the political decision which needs to be made must also be clear that under no circumstances should the power to hold a referendum be devolved to either Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales. Because we know that obsessed politicians will use that power to first of all call continual referendums until they got the result they wanted, they would use it to distort the political debate, and they would use it to cover up for their own governmental incompetence."

He added: "I plead to the Government not to even contemplate going down that road, but I would also say the Government needs to do far, far more - whether in a Northern Ireland context, whether a Welsh context, or a Scottish context - to sell the benefits of the Union, which are apparent to everybody."