Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if the Government will adhere to the commitments on the Northern Ireland border which the UK and EU made in the December 2017 Joint Report in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

The proposals we have put forward for both the future economic partnership with the EU, and for the Northern Ireland backstop, would allow both sides to meet our commitments to the people of Northern Ireland in full, and we are working hard to get a deal on that basis. The Prime Minister has been clear that a negotiated deal is the best outcome for the UK and EU, and that it is achievable.

In the unlikely event of no deal, we have been clear that we will do everything in our power to avoid a hard border, and that we must continue to respect our unique relationship with Ireland, with whom we share a land border and who are co-signatories of the Belfast Agreement.