Ulster Unionist Leader Robin Swann MLA has given a strong welcome to the Prime Minister’s statement today, in which she reaffirmed her commitment to ensuring that Brexit would not open the door to Northern Ireland being treated differently to the rest of the United Kingdom, as underscored through the principle of consent in the Belfast Agreement.
Robin Swann MLA said:
“I warmly welcome the Prime Minister’s clear statement of intent following the Salzburg talks.
“The single sentence – ‘I will not overturn the result of the referendum nor will I break up my country’ indicates that the Prime Minister has grasped fully what the result of agreeing to any deal which involved ‘special status’ or a separate set of arrangements for Northern Ireland would really mean.
“This was reinforced by the line ‘We cannot accept anything that threatens the integrity of our Union.’
“As the Ulster Unionist Party has said before, Brexit cannot and must not be used to establish an internal border within the United Kingdom of any form. The referendum was about whether or not the UK left the EU, it was NOT about whether or not Northern Ireland left the UK.
“Unionists will be reassured by the Prime Minister’s comments today and her commitment to ensuring that Northern Ireland will not be used as a bargaining chip in the Brexit negotiations.
“The Ulster Unionist Party is determined to ensure that Northern Ireland’s current status within the UK is maintained in its entirety, in every respect.”