FORMER police chief Hugh Orde has launched a stinging attack on Theresa Villiers accusing the Northern Ireland secretary of state of having "her head firmly stuck in a peat bog" on border control.
The former PSNI chief constable warned that Britain and Northern Ireland would be less safe in the event of a Brexit and described the argument of Vote Leave campaigners as "farcical".
Mr Orde, who led the PSNI from 2002 to 2009, used a letter to the Irish Times to call for Brexit leaders to set out in simple terms how border security in Ireland would be handled if the UK leaves the EU.
And in strongly worded attack on the Secretary of State and Brexit supporter Ms Villiers, he said her views were "at right angles to others in the Leave campaign".
"In terms of the border that divides the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland the argument to leave becomes farcical," said Mr Orde.
"It is inevitable that border controls would have to return - the whole Brexit argument is around this very point.
"If you shut the front door, leaving the back door open would be stupid. Indeed, serious players such as Lord Nigel Lawson and UK justice minister Dominic Raab have acknowledged this fact.
"Yet Northern Secretary Theresa Villiers continues to keep her head firmly stuck in a peat bog.
"Recently, she reminded us of the long history of our relationship, asserting no control would be necessary. She needs to clarify in very simple terms her position - currently it is at right angles to others in the Leave campaign."
Mr Orde, also a former head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said Ms Villiers "has as a simple question to answer".
"Leading figures in the Leave campaign and in the British government have all said the border would be reinstated if Britain leaves the EU," he said.
"Only you disagree. Will you admit there is a serious, likelihood a hard border would be reinstated?"
Mr Orde added: "Anything that suggests an increased division in Northern Ireland and between the North and the Republic is a bad thing".
However, Ms Villiers hit back at Mr Orde's remarks and said it was "just more scare tactics by the Remain campaign".
"The Common Travel Area with the Republic of Ireland pre-dated membership of the EU and it will continue if we vote to leave," she said.
"Irish citizens have always been given a special status in the UK and that will not change.
"The risks around retaining an open border can and will be effectively managed in the event of a Brexit Vote.
"The Vote Leave Campaign's position is clear that the UK will keep an open border with Ireland. This is just more scare tactics by the Remain campaign."
DUP MP Sammy Wilson also accused Mr Orde of treating voters like "ignoramuses".
"I think Hugh Orde is wrong. It does not surprise me. He is part of that elite who want to try and scare people, that's what it is all down to now," Mr Wilson said.
The East Antrim MP also accused Mr Orde of resorting to personal abuse of Ms Villiers.
"When someone has to become personally abusive in that way it's usually a fairly good sign the argument is weak," he said.
The SDLP's Alex Attwood said in the past Mr Orde "has earned a great deal of respect and his current views deserve equal respect".
"It is not only Sir Hugh Orde who has been making arguments around borders and security, and the risks that arise on the far side of any Brexit vote mean all these views should be taken seriously," he said.
