DUP MP Jim Shannon has said his party will not support any Brexit deal which would see the UK remaining in a customs union with the EU.
The Strangford MP was responding to weekend reports that Theresa May’s government hopes to gain Labour's support for the Withdrawal Agreement with a deal that would see the UK remaining in a customs union with Brussels.
Labour has called for a permanent customs union with the EU and is in talks with the Tory government about a possible compromise.
Mr Shannon said the DUP was concerned that Mrs May was preparing to concede to Labour’s demand, after she warned that Brexit could “slip through our fingers” unless a compromise can be found.
“We will not support a customs union, as that is not the Brexit people voted for," he told the News Letter. "We will not change our minds."
The Strangford MP also accused the the prime minister of failing to understand the basis of the DUP's opposition to the Withdrawal Agreement.
"The prime minister never seemed to grasp the issue we have with her Brexit deal, that being the backstop and the threat it poses to the union," he said.
"Our bottom line was never her bottom line. It is remarkably disappointing because we pressed that upon her for two years, and at every stage of the way she failed to understood what the issue was."
During Westminster's March 27 round of indicative votes, Mr Shannon appeared to go on a solo run, joining 399 fellow MPs in rejecting a no deal. However, according to a DUP spokesman, his No vote was cast "in error".
