DUP MP Paul Girvan has suggested that Theresa May's Brexit deal would do what the IRA failed to do and lead to the reunification of Ireland.
He said: "Many families from this United Kingdom gave sons to fight for what we have in Northern Ireland, which is to remain part of the UK.
READ MORE: Cabinet's full legal advice to be published as Theresa May's draft Brexit faces fresh scrutiny
"What was not achieved by the IRA and Republicanism has been achieved by those bureaucrats within Europe and with a pen potentially leaving Northern Ireland on the route to a united Ireland."
The comments came after the Government suffered three humiliating Commons defeats in little more than an hour.
Commons leader Andrea Leadsom was first forced to agree to publish the Government's full legal advice on the deal after MPs found the Government in contempt of Parliament and then MPs succeeded in a bid to grant the Commons a greater say over what happens if Mrs May's deal is rejected next Tuesday.
The Prime Minister has been warned by Labour in the Lords that to "crash out" of the EU with a no-deal Brexit would be "grossly reckless and irresponsible".
Labour's leader in the Lords Baroness Smith of Basildon branded the Withdrawal Agreement "inadequate" and said a no-deal scenario must be rejected.
READ MORE: David Mundell: Nicola Sturgeon could go on post-Brexit trade missions with Theresa May
But Lords leader Baroness Evans of Bowes Park defended the deal as being in the national interest and vital to protect jobs.
Urging peers to support the deal, Lady Evans said: "This is a good deal and as European leaders have made clear, the only one on offer."
Stephen Barclay, in his first speech from the despatch box as Brexit Secretary, said Mrs May's deal was "not perfect" but said: "It recognises our shared history and values and provides a framework for our future economic and security relationship."
He added: "This deal is a choice between the certainty of continued cooperation or the potentially damaging fracture of no-deal."
MPs are expected to resume the debate on Mrs May's Brexit deal early afternoon on Wednesday.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel