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Sinn Féin: Arlene Foster has 'lost run of herself' over 'blood red' line on border in Irish Sea

Arlene Foster said the DUP had been consistent in its opposition to north-south regulatory alignment. Picture by Victoria Jones/PA Wire
Arlene Foster said the DUP had been consistent in its opposition to north-south regulatory alignment. Picture by Victoria Jones/PA Wire Arlene Foster said the DUP had been consistent in its opposition to north-south regulatory alignment. Picture by Victoria Jones/PA Wire

ARLENE Foster has described her party's 'red line' opposition to a border in the Irish Sea as "blood red".

In a phrase that echoed Ulster Covenant-era Edward Carson, the DUP leader repeated her opposition to any new regulatory barriers between Northern Ireland and Britain..

Amid fresh reports that the UK government is preparing to move its position on the legal text of the border backstop, Mrs Foster has insisted that the DUP will vote against any proposal that would result in new checks on goods moving across the Irish Sea.

"There cannot be a border down the Irish Sea, a differential between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK," she told the BBC.

“The red line is blood red.”

Mrs Foster said the DUP had been consistent in its opposition to north-south regulatory alignment.

The DUP’s 10 MPs prop up British prime minister Theresa May’s minority Conservative government.

When asked if she was prepared to vote down Ms May on a Brexit deal, Ms Foster said her party would prefer not to be "in that position".

“This is too important to be playing around with things because this is the union – this is what brought me into politics," she said.

Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill branded the remarks as "absolutely bizarre" and said the DUP leader has "lost the run of herself".

Michelle O'Neill said Arlene Foster had 'lost the run of herself'. Picture by Mal McCann
Michelle O'Neill said Arlene Foster had 'lost the run of herself'. Picture by Mal McCann Michelle O'Neill said Arlene Foster had 'lost the run of herself'. Picture by Mal McCann

"When I look at the last few days and the behaviour of the DUP in England, particular in relation to the Tory party conference, they purport to speak for the people of the north, they do not speak for the people of the north," the Mid Ulster MLA said.

The Dublin government clashed publicly with the DUP on Tuesday over Brexit and the future of the Good Friday Agreement, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar rejecting suggestions the agreement could be changed to accommodate the UK leaving the EU.

While Ms Foster had suggested the 1998 accord “wasn’t sacrosanct”, Mr Varadkar told the Dáil it “is not a piece of British legislation”.

Read more: 

  • Analysis: the overriding desire to cling onto power could damn us to decades of instability (premium)
  • Leading article: Core principles of Good Friday Agreement cannot be abandoned
  • We will never allow a border down Irish Sea, says Karen Bradley
  • Newton Emerson: EU belatedly tries to take the drama out of an Irish Sea border (premium)