UK leader May seeks to ease Brexit fears in Northern Ireland


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

LONDON (AP) — Britain wants to find a "practical solution" to ensure there will be no new border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland when the U.K. leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom to share a land border with another EU member. Residents and businesses on both sides of the frontier fear a return to customs and immigration controls along the unmarked border.

Visiting Belfast, May said the U.K. and Ireland had shared a common travel area since "many years before either country was a member of the European Union."

"Nobody wants to return to the borders of the past," May said after talks with Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness that focused on the potential consequences of a British EU exit.

"What we do want to do is to find a way through this that is going to work and deliver a practical solution for everybody," she said.

Since taking office July 13, May also has visited Scotland and Wales in a bid to address political tensions within the United Kingdom. A majority of voters in England and Wales backed leaving the 28-nation EU, but well over half of people in Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the June 23 referendum.

The result has boosted the movement for Scottish independence, with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying she will do whatever it takes to keep Scotland in the EU.

Sturgeon said in an Edinburgh speech Monday that it "may well be that the option that offers us the greatest certainty, stability and the maximum control over our own destiny is that of independence."

The referendum result also raises questions about the future of Northern Ireland, which experienced decades of violence between Irish nationalists and British unionists that have eased following a 1998 peace settlement.

The leaders of Northern Ireland's power-sharing administration took opposite sides during the referendum campaign. Foster's Democratic Unionist Party backed the "leave" side, while McGuinness' Irish nationalist Sinn Fein campaigned to "remain," arguing that a British exit would force authorities to revive trade barriers and renew physical security measures on hundreds of cross-border roads.

Sinn Fein, which seeks a united Ireland, has called for an island-wide referendum on whether Northern Ireland should leave the U.K. and join the Irish Republic. The 1998 peace deal includes a provision for such a vote, but both May and the Irish government in Dublin have expressed opposition to the idea.

May says she will not begin formal negotiations to leave the EU until there is a U.K.-wide plan for managing a British exit.

"I want to assure the people of Northern Ireland that I will lead a government which works for everyone across all parts of the United Kingdom, and that Northern Ireland is a special and valued part of that union," she said.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos

Most recent World stories

Related topics

World
JILL LAWLESS

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast