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Boris Johnson slaps down Sinn Fein’s demands to unify Ireland and says he’ll ‘never be neutral’ on keeping the UK together
BORIS Johnson has slapped down calls to unify Ireland and insisted he will "never be neutral" on whether to support keeping the UK together.
On the last leg of the PM's whistle-stop tour of the country he stuck up for his Northern Irish allies the DUP in fiery talks, and vowed to always fight for the union.
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Boris met with the Northern Irish parties today to try and restore their collapsed local Government, but faced a tricky first visit.
He faced demands from a furious Sinn Fein for another poll on reunifying the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland - a move which would split up the UK.
As he finished off his tour of the UK he vowed that he would stick to the "letter and spirit of the Good Friday Agreement"and wanted to preserve the peace no matter what.
And he immediately slapped down their demands for an Irish referendum, telling the DUP's Arlene Foster there was no chance.
"On talk of the union border poll he told us that is not something that he was entertaining," she said this lunchtime.
"The Prime Minister reiterated that he would never be neutral on the union."
A No10 spokesperson said this afternoon that the PM talked Brexit, strengthening the Union and committing to the Good Friday Agreement in his discussions with Northern Ireland's five parties.
“He also made clear his belief and commitment in the rigorous impartiality set out in the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement, while at the same time reaffirming his determination to strengthen the Union and Northern Ireland’s place within it," they said.
The new PM has insisted that he won't accept a deal with the hated Northern Irish backstop in, and he won't come back for talks unless they move.
The backstop - a key part of Theresa May's hated Brexit deal - would keep Northern Ireland tied to EU rules if we didn't get a trade deal sorted with the bloc.
In a phone call with Leo Varadkar last night Boris demanded again that the Irish insurance policy be ditched, but was told it wasn't possible.
LET'S DO A DEAL... IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Boris promised to help all parties back around the table to try and restore the government, which hasn't been sitting for two years since it collapsed.
"I’ll be helping the parties in any way I can to get that going and over the line," he said today.
And he vowed yesterday to "never" put up a hard border in Northern Ireland, which could risk a return to political violence.
His new Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Whip - who helped broker the deal with the DUP under May - joined him to schmooze the parties today.
Ahead of his arrival he said that the people have been without a Government there for "much, much too long".
Why doesn't Northern Ireland have a working government and what is power-sharing?
UNDER the Good Friday Agreement which brought to peace to Northern Ireland in 1997, both of the country's major parties have to work together to form a Government.
It collapsed in early 2017 after a furious row between the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein.
Sinn Fein's Martin McGuiness quit as Deputy First Minister in January in protests at the DUP's handling of a botched energy scheme under Arlene Foster.
They wanted a public inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.
Mr McGuiness then died at the age of 66 after stepping down as party leader due to illness. He was succeeded by Ms O'Neill.
Talks have been restarted several times but have remained deadlocked.
A draft deal was even written but it fell through.
One of the sticking points from Sinn Fein is that they want an Irish Language Act to give Gaelic parity with English - but the DUP oppose this and see it as an erosion of British identity.
But there are also tensions over same sex marriage after the DUP blocked it using an obsecure petition.
And both sides have disagreed over how to deal with historical allegations of violence during the Troubles - and who if anyone should be prosecuted for crimes.
DINNER WITH THE DUP
But the PM was slammed by critics for having dinner with Arlene Foster, Nigel Dodds and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson last night.
Sinn Fein's leader Mary Lou McDonald marched straight out of a breakfast with Boris this morning to warn that a "dangerous" No Deal Brexit will wreck the peace process and trigger a unification referendum.
In a blistering attack she accused the new PM of being "complacent" about the catastrophe facing Ireland and said that he's "set the compass to a crash Brexit".
"We have stated to him very clearly that Brexit in any event but certainly a disorderly Brexit represents a dramatic change in circumstances on this island," she said.
"And it would be unthinkable in those circumstances that people not be given the opportunity to decide on our future together."
No one believed he was truly impartial in trying to get a Government going in Northern Ireland again, she added, demanding he stop being a "gopher" to the DUP.
"He tells us he will act with absolute impartiality," she said.
"We told him nobody believes him."
He tells us he will act with absolute impartiality. We told him nobody believes him
Mary Lou McDonald
The agreement between the DUP and the Tories which keeps them in power has "poisoned" talks and made it even harder to continue creating a government, she claimed.
"To make progress here he needs to ensure he is not the DUP's gopher, stop mollycoddling them and spell out the realities of life to them," she fumed.
As his Commons majority hangs by a thread, Boris is still reliant on the 10 DUP MPs after becoming PM.
It could be reduced to just one tomorrow if the Tories lose a by-election as expected in Wales.
Boris earlier denied having dinner with the DUP affected the Government's impartiality.
"It's all there in the Good Friday Agreement, we believe in complete impartiality and that's what we are going to observe," he said.
Over dinner the group discussed Brexit, restoring government in Northern Ireland and how to strengthen the bonds between Northern Ireland and the rest of the country, Ms Foster said today.
"We weren’t discussing confidence and supply last night. We were welcoming the Prime Minister to Northern Ireland," she told Good Morning Britain.
But the dinner will likely have involved speculative discussions on the price of the DUP's continued support of the Tory party.
The DUP said their agreement was still on the cards as they did a deal with the party, not the leader of it.
But in the coming months they are set to demand more concessions in return for their backing.
Boris Johnson woos DUP leader Arlene Foster over dinner with talk of strengthening the union and delivering Brexit during visit to Northern Ireland
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What is the Brexit backstop and what does it mean for the Irish border?
The backstop plan is essentially a safety net for Nothern Ireland if there is no Brexit trade deal.
It would avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which has long been a spot for violence as seen during the troubles.
And it would ensure that no "tariffs, quotas, rules of origin or customs processes" would be applied to UK-EU trade - keeping Britain in a single customs territory with the EU.
This would also leave Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods - meaning goods crossing the border would not be subject to checks for customs or product standards.
That would then mean a border in the Irish sea for goods checks, leaving Northern Ireland separated from the rest of the UK.
Essentially, the backstop ties the UK to the EU's rules and procedures, even though we're technically outside of the bloc.
The EU think we're getting a good deal by staying close but technically being out, but Brits are fuming we'll be unable to strike out alone and will be bound by the bloc's rules for years to come.
There's no time limit on the backstop either, so it could exist indefinitely and tie us in limbo forever.
Arlene Foster tells ‘belligerent’ Dublin to ‘get real’ and says Irish backstop has to go
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Boris has visited Scotland and Wales this week, but got booed by the public.
He held tense talks with First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford about Brexit, and insisted we are leaving on October 31 no matter what.
And if we're forced out without an agreement, it will be Brussels' fault, he said.
But he hoped that a deal would be on the cards which would include a transition arrangement too, meaning we wouldn't face a sharp edge exit.
Last night Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay spoke to EU boss Michel Barnier and again stressed that we're leaving in October come what may.
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Boris Johnson branded 'lying a**ehole' by angry Scottish protester as he rules out IndyRef2
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