Theresa May’s de facto deputy has warned that any Brexit deal with the EU will have to involve compromise as the DUP accused the prime minister of “breaching” her pledge not to allow Northern Ireland to be divided from the rest of the UK. After meeting the Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, David Lidington did not address DUP concerns directly but warned any agreement would have to involve “give and take”. He was speaking after a leaked letter from the prime minister to the DUP revealed the government is preparing to allow the EU to impose specific regulatory checks on goods entering Northern Ireland as part of the controversial backstop. It also suggests that the final Withdrawal Agreement could contain a mechanism to put a
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has criticised a letter from UK Prime Minister Theresa May to leader Arlene Foster, which suggested the EU could impose regulatory checks on Northern Ireland as part of a backstop, and create a border in the Irish Sea in the event of a no-deal outcome. DUP MP Nigel Dodds said that if Mrs Foster had been serious about protecting her constituents she would have written to Mr Davis instead of writing to Ms May.