UK must offer border referendum on N. Ireland if govt chooses hard Brexit – Sinn Féin

Britain would have to offer a referendum on Northern Ireland splitting from the United Kingdom if the government pursues a hard Brexit, the head of Northern Ireland’s largest nationalist party said on Wednesday.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald told BBC radio it would be “quite scandalous” for the government to not grant a border poll if it pursued a no-deal Brexit.

At a meeting with Britain's new leader on Wednesday, the Sinn Féin leader warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson that a disorderly Brexit would be disastrous for the Irish economy, Reuters reports.

“We’ve challenged him very strongly on that [Brexit] policy. We have set out very clearly that this would be catastrophic for the Irish economy, for Irish livelihoods, for our society, our politics and for our peace accord,” McDonald said.