Northern Ireland

Businesses warn MPs of 'significant damage' of no-deal Brexit

Bombardier is one of the employers to have signed the open letter to MPs calling on them to avoid a no-deal Brexit
Bombardier is one of the employers to have signed the open letter to MPs calling on them to avoid a no-deal Brexit Bombardier is one of the employers to have signed the open letter to MPs calling on them to avoid a no-deal Brexit

BREXIT uncertainty is already beginning to "bite", more than 50 high-profile businesses have warned in a joint letter to MPs.

Major employers including Queen's University, Bombardier Aerospace, Danske Bank and Norbrook pharmaceuticals have urged politicians to find a solution to the Brexit impasse and avoid a hard border.

The UK is due to leave the European Union in less than three weeks' time, on March 29, however there is still no agreement between the two sides and no clear vision of how the border will operate after Brexit.

A vote on Theresa May's latest deal is due to be held on Tuesday. If her proposals are rejected, then MPs will decide on whether to leave the EU without a deal, or delay the departure date.

In the open letter, co-ordinated by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the businesses warned that they would be left "hugely exposed to the economic fallout from leaving the EU with no-deal".

"A no-deal Brexit will result in significant damage to our export markets, supply chains, consumer spending power and the region's competitiveness," they said.

They added: "A no-deal Brexit will undoubtedly result in creating regulatory and tariff differences across the island of Ireland and will therefore have direct consequences for border checks and crossings."

The businesses warned that the "negative economic impact" of Brexit uncertainty is already beginning "to bite" with "significant skill and labour shortages".

"Northern Ireland industry also notes with much regret uncertainty around future funding for local infrastructure, given the immediate loss of approximately £450 million from the European Regional Development Fund which was once earmarked for significant infrastructure projects," they said.

"The peace and economic progress that flowed from the Good Friday Agreement cannot be overlooked at this critical time in the UK's history."

The businesses said that the possibility of a no-deal Brexit should be "taken off the table".

The main sticking point in the negotiations has been the backstop aimed at preventing a hard border in the event of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal.

British prime minister Theresa May has come under pressure from her own MPs to ensure the UK is not tied to the mechanism indefinitely - a demand opposed by the EU and the Irish government.

DUP MP Sammy Wilson hit out at the letter and claimed it was part of attempts to force MPs to agree a bad deal.

"Last week the Head of the Civil Service entered the political arena with his ham-fisted, chaos threatening letter and now we find that businesses in NI are engaging in the same tactic," he said.

He said the letter's concerns were based on the "non-existent threat of (customs) infrastructure along the border, while ignoring the explicit terms of the withdrawal agreement".

He added that the letter ignored the "inflexibility" of EU negotiators.

Meanwhile, DUP North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds warned Mrs May that a deal without substantial changes to the backstop will be defeated again.

Writing in a joint article with Conservative MP Steve Baker in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Dodds described the situation as "grim", adding: "An unchanged Withdrawal Agreement will be defeated firmly by a sizeable proportion of Conservatives and the DUP if it is again presented to the Commons."