Northern Ireland

Karen Bradley continues efforts to sell Brexit withdrawal deal

Karen Bradley meets representatives from Women in Business. Picture by Brian Little/Press Eye
Karen Bradley meets representatives from Women in Business. Picture by Brian Little/Press Eye Karen Bradley meets representatives from Women in Business. Picture by Brian Little/Press Eye

KAREN Bradley will continue her whistle-stop tour of Northern Ireland today as she seeks to sell the merits of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

The secretary of state is expected to visit businesses in north Down this morning in the hope of convincing unionists that the deal signed off by Theresa May and the EU last weekend is the best option available.

She spent yesterday morning in Lisburn meeting representatives of the Resurgam Trust before joining a roundtable discussion with members of Women in Business in Belfast.

Later she attended the NI Chamber of Commerce president’s banquet at Belfast's Waterfront and a Christmas fair in Comber, Co Down.

Women In Business chief executive Roseanne Kelly said her organisation was keen to see Brexit resolved so energies could be refocused on restoring the devolved institutions but she said her members had told Mrs Bradley they were generally supportive of the withdrawal deal .

"Women in Business would have been in line with the majority of people in Northern Ireland who wished to remain in the EU, however, having assessed what’s on offer, our delegation is unanimous in support of the Brexit withdrawal deal," she told The Irish News.

"We believe in the absence of anything else, it provides businesses with the certainty they desire at present and is good for Northern Ireland."

Philip Dean, chairman of the Resurgum Trust, said his organisation and the wider unionist community was sceptical of the deal.

"If you're a member of the unionist community and ten of your MPs are telling you it's a bad deal, the majority of the Tory party telling you it's a bad deal, and you have Sinn Féin and the SDLP saying it's a good deal, automatically unionists become suspicious and think that something's wrong here – and that's the feeling within the unionist community," he said.

Meanwhile, the Ulster Farmers Union's leadership team have met Mrs May to discuss the withdrawal agreement.

Speaking afterwards, UFU president Ivor Ferguson said the lobby group had given the deal a "cautious welcome".

"While not perfect, the agreement would ensure free and frictionless trade with the EU as well as ensuring goods from Northern Ireland would have unfettered access to GB," he said.

"It also ensures minimal disruption to the long-standing relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.”

He said a no deal Brexit would be a "disaster for farming in Northern Ireland".

Read More:Brexit timeline of key events