Brexit border backstop ‘must go,’ N. Irish DUP leader says

The leader of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s minority government, said on Wednesday that the Irish border backstop had to go.

“The backstop has been the continuing and fundamental flaw in the Withdrawal Agreement,” DUP leader Arlene Foster told Sky News. “It is very important that the backstop goes.”

Jeffrey Donaldson, a senior lawmaker in the DUP, said on Wednesday the party agreed with Johnson that the only way to get a Brexit deal through parliament was to drop the Irish backstop.

He also told BBC radio that the chances of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal are significant, signaling the party’s support for Johnson’s tough Brexit approach.