THE DUP’s approach to Brexit is damaging the Union and aiding the cause of Irish nationalism, according to former Conservative Party chairman Chris Patten.
The man who 20 years ago oversaw the reform of Northern Ireland policing in the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement said Arlene Foster’s party had “undermined" both unionism's case and the "sort of arguments that should be at the core of what they believe in".
Speaking to The Irish News in Galway, where he was launching the Maurice Hayes archive at the city’s university, Lord Patten said Mrs Foster's recent remarks about Brussels and Dublin's intransigence had demonstrated to him “that political irony wasn’t dead”.
The one-time NIO junior minister who became governor of Hong Kong said the DUP's approach “did more for Sinn Féin’s case than Sinn Féin does”.
Lord Patten, a former European commissioner, described the Brexit deadlock as a “shambolic mess” and advocates a second referendum on EU membership.
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He was deeply critical of the Jacob Rees-Mogg-led European Research Group, which he described as “right wing nationalist zealots”, who “in effect established another party” with their own whip, funding and leadership.
“They operate as a bloc, sometimes outside the Conservative Party pretending to be inside,” he said.
The crossbench peer said it was “lamentable” that two former Tory secretaries of state – Owen Paterson and Theresa Villiers – argued during the EU referendum campaign that the border “wouldn’t be an issue”.
“That was either delusional or mendacious,” he said.
Lord Patten said it was a “huge mistake” for Theresa May to enter into a confidence and supply agreement with the DUP following the 2017 snap election.
He said the British government had “compromised its integrity and its balanced position on Northern Ireland to get into bed with the DUP”.
“A bung for the DUP votes when it suits the DUP,” he said.
“I think it was a reprehensible move, as a result of Mrs May mis-calling a general election. I don't think the Conservative Party's record in Northern Ireland is as good as it should've been."
He said the Tory leader was in an “unenviable position” but had made matters worse for herself in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 referendum by pledging to leave the customs union and single market.
Lord Patten said the backstop had become a "necessity" because of the decision to leave the customs union and single market.
However, the former direct rule junior minister was measured in his criticism of Secretary of State Karen Bradley’s recent comments, where she said security force killings were “not crimes”.
“They were, to put it mildly, surprising – I’ll put it no stronger than that,” he said.
Asked whether he believed the union was as secure now as five years ago, he said: "I hope so but when I say that what I mean is that the union is made secure by democracy.
"I sometimes think the way the DUP handle the unionist case undermines the sort of arguments which should be at the core of what they believe in and try to do – I think they do more for Sinn Féin's case than Sinn Féin does by undermining confidence in the existing economic and political relationships between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, Europe and the Republic of Ireland."
He said he believed British-Irish relations had not been harmed by Brexit but that if the UK left the EU with out a deal it would do "real damage".
Lord Patten said these days he paid little attention to policing in Northern Ireland, as he was reluctant to be seen as an “inspector” of the implementation of reforms.
He said his partial knowledge of the current situation meant he would not advocate a return to 50/50 recruitment to redress Catholic under-representation in the PSNI.
He said recent figures showing the number of Catholic police at around 30 per cent was “better than seven or eight per cent” – the corresponding percentage of Catholics in the RUC.
During his speech yesterday evening to mark the opening of the the Maurice Hayes archive, Lord Patten described the late former Northern Ireland ombudsman, who served alongside the then Tory peer on the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, as a "wise and witty friend, and a brave public figure".
