PM: Brexit Does Not Mean Old Ireland Borders

Theresa May has said she does not want leaving the European Union to herald a "return to the borders of the past" in Northern Ireland.

Speaking on Monday on her first a visit to Belfast since becoming Prime Minister, Mrs May said there would have to be some kind of border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland when the UK left the EU.

However, she indicated she did not want to see the return of a hard border and that she would work with Stormont to "deliver a practical solution" to the problem.

Mrs May will meet the Irish premier Enda Kenny on Tuesday for further discussions on how Brexit will unfold.

On Monday she met Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness for what she described as "constructive talks", she said: "Nobody wants to return to the borders of the past.

"What we do want to do is find a way through this that is going to work deliver a practical solution for everybody as part of the work that we are doing to make sure that we make a success of the UK leaving the European Union."

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Mr McGuinness said there was "no good news whatsoever about Brexit" and that Northern Ireland's vote to remain part of the EU should be respected.

He said: "I am totally against any borders of any description whether it be for trade or free movement of people."

The First Minister said that she did not want to see a return to the borders of the 70s, 80s and 90s, but stressed that they had been for security reasons and nothing to do with membership of the EU.

Mrs May said they had discussed the impact that the referendum would have and stressed her "Brexit means Brexit" mantra.

She insisted that Northern Ireland and Scotland would be "involved in our discussions as we set forward the UK position".

The EU referendum saw 56% in Northern Ireland vote to remain and 62% in Scotland.

People and goods going between Northern Ireland and the Republic have been able to move freely thanks to the common travel area (CTA).

The open borders agreement, set up in the 1920s, has been strengthened by both Britain and Ireland's European membership.

However, questions and concerns have been raised about what this means for the CTA and for both economies in the wake of the referendum.

Northern Ireland's former justice minister David Ford is among a cross-community group of politicians and human rights activists whose lawyers have written to Mrs May urging her to consider the peace process and other unique requirements before triggering Article 50, the mechanism to leave the EU.

Solicitors have threatened to take a judicial review before the High Court in Belfast - and ultimately to Europe's highest court - unless Mrs May addresses legal obligations they say she must meet, including gaining the consent of the Stormont Assembly.