Ireland must not become back-door for immigration, says MP

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, said the Government must ensure that the border with the Irish republic did not become a route for illegal migrants wanting to enter the UK.

Yesterday the Government published a policy paper which said there should be no border posts or immigration checks between the British province and the rest of Ireland.

It ruled out a return to the "hard border", with formal customs checks between the north and the south, which would become the UK's only land border with the EU.

It proposed two possible options, one which would see the UK aligning its customs policy with that of the EU, so there would be no customs border at all between the two states. An alternative would see a deal between the EU and the UK to minimise trade barriers and use technology to avoid queues at border crossings.

Mr Kawczynski said he appreciated the importance of allowing easy movement between the two states to the peace process.

But he said if the Irish republic, as a member of the EU, remained committed to the free movement of people, then the UK Government had a duty to ensure that the Irish border did not become a back-door route for illegal immigration into the UK.

Mr Kawczynski said the UK and Irish governments should look at how the border was managed between the US and Canada.

"Along the Canada-US border technology is being used in a most efficient way, with lots of cars and people crossing the border in a seamless way, while still effectively controlling it," he said.

"I think the British authorities need to look at that."

Britain's proposals have been met with a sceptical reaction in Brussels, with the European Parliament's chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt claiming invisible borders between the UK and Republic of Ireland were a "fantasy".

The Government has been accused of trying to cherry pick the benefits of being in the customs union, while refusing to budge on issues such as free movement of people.

But Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire denied that Britain wanted to have its cake and eat it.

He said the proposals would benefit the EU as well.

"It is about ensuring that we have the enduring deep and special partnership with our EU friends colleagues and neighbours," said Mr Brokenshire.

"So rather this being some sort of characterisation as trying to be one sided in some fashion, it is rather how we want to see the EU continuing to succeed and how we want to see that enduring relationship with our EU partners."

Prime Minister Theresa May reassured nationalists living in Northern Ireland that Brexit would not see the UK turn its back on its "unique and special relationship" with the republic.

Mrs May insisted rights enshrined under the Good Friday peace accord, such as the right to claim Irish citizenship, would be protected after the exit from the European Union.

She said: "No one voted to end the special ties between the UK and Ireland or to undermine the unique arrangements between Ireland and Northern Ireland which have underpinned the peace process and have been in place well before our membership of the EU."

The UK Governemnt's proposals have been cautiously welcomed in Dublin.

Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said they represented a significant step forward, although said delivering them might be more difficult.

Mr Coveney said there was a need for a unique political solution to allow free uninhibited trade on the island of Ireland.

"I think we have some of that thinking in the paper that is being published today," he said.