Theresa May accused of 'panic' as DUP slams backstop concessions

However the idea was swiftly rubbished by the DUP’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson, who told The Herald: “If David Lidington thinks we are that soft in the head, he doesn’t know us.”

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Mr Lidington made the comments while giving evidence to a special committee of MSPs in Holyrood.

It came after Mrs May’s Brexit divorce deal outlined plans for Northern Ireland to adopt a different regulatory regime to the rest of the UK in the event of a wider trade deal with the EU failing to materialise.

The backstop would aim to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, but the DUP – which props up her Government – vociferously opposes the plans.

Party leader Arlene Foster insisted it could not agree to anything “that hives off Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom”.

The Scottish Tories also raised fears such a move risked undermining the Union and boosting the independence movement.

Mr Lidington said that if a backstop was ever put in place, “what we would be seeking to do to provide reassurance to unionists in Scotland and Northern Ireland – and England and Wales for that matter – is to say okay, while that’s in [place] Great Britain will not diverge from the regime in Northern Ireland.

“Now there would still be some exceptions, because Northern Ireland is already different from Great Britain in some respects in certain sectors. But the key thing would be industrial goods.”

The proposals would see the rest of the UK voluntarily align with those single market rules that apply to Northern Ireland – essentially tying itself to EU regulations for an indefinite period.

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Asked if this was a concession to the DUP and the Scottish Tories, Mr Lidington later told the media: “You can describe it as a concession if you like.

“It’s a way of trying to provide that reassurance to people that the commitment to the union is very deeply felt.”

Scottish Tory constitution spokesman Adam Tomkins said Mr Lidington's remarks were “vital and welcome”.

He said: “There have been concerns that the separate backstop arrangements for Northern Ireland would leave to an unacceptable level of divergence within the United Kingdom.

“However, he has confirmed today that Great Britain, including Scotland, will align with the single market rules that apply to Northern Ireland if the backstop kicks in."

But DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson pilloried the proposals, which he insisted were a “sign of the panic that’s creeping in to the Government over this issue”.

He told The Herald this was the first he had heard of it, adding: “We are certainly not going to take the word of a minister who is already looking for get-out clauses in his promises, especially when we have seen how the Prime Minister just tore up the promises she made to us.

“It’s hardly an assurance, believe you me. We would be fools to accept any such assurance.”

Mr Wilson also said the plans – which would be fiercely opposed by Brexiteers – undermined Mrs May’s pledge to take the UK out of the single market and customs union and were "not Brexit".

Mr Lidington said the backstop was simply an “insurance policy” which neither the UK nor the EU wanted to use, while a Whitehall insider suggested it would be so temporary that any divergence would be "unlikely, in any case".

A senior SNP source said: “This looks like a panicked cave-in to the DUP and shows how short-sighted it has been for the Government to engage with hard-line Unionists but not with the broader parliament, which represents a much broader spectrum of opinion across the UK than the Democratic Unionists do.”

It came as Mr Lidington admitted voters may choose to remain in the EU if a second referendum is held, but insisted such a result would only risk fuelling the far-right.

He said a so-called People’s Vote would be “be divisive without being decisive” and could radicalise those who felt it was “an attempt by the political elite to set aside a democratic verdict that they had found unwelcome”.

He added: “Look for example at where Ukip is today – you know, we are now in a post-[Nigel] Farage Ukip where Tommy Robinson is now their standard bearer.

“I think the probable populist reaction to setting aside that 2016 referendum verdict is likely to be more ugly than previous versions.”