Theresa May’s government courts Northern Irish business to sell Brexit deal
Minister meets companies in Belfast for the second time in five days to talk up the deal
Britain’s Northern Ireland minister on Monday called on businesses in the province to support the draft EU divorce deal, which is being fiercely resisted by the Northern Irish party that props up the UK government. As Prime Minister Theresa May courted business leaders in London, her representative in Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, met companies in Belfast for the second time in five days to talk up a deal she said handed them a vital insurance policy. She also warned fellow MPs that rejecting the withdrawal deal would lead to a “potentially very chaotic departure” from the EU that World Trade Organisation rules made clear would require border checks on the island of Ireland. The disputed Northern Ireland provision in the deal, which could align the province more closely with the EU than the rest of the UK would be, was agreed by negotiators to keep the border between Northern Ireland and EU-member Ireland open. The Democratic Unionist Party, whose 10 legislators prop up May's min...
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