UK government commitment to Belfast agreement ‘rock solid’, Lords hears

Brexit will not affect the Belfast Agreement, to which the UK Government’s commitment is “rock solid”, peers in the House of Lords have heard.

Viscount Younger of Leckie said its future “is not and never has been in question”.

He added: “The UK’s exit from the EU does not change the commitment of the UK Government and the people of Northern Ireland to the Belfast Agreement … and to the institutions they establish.”

However, former Northern Ireland secretary Lord Hain was more cautious. He said: “This is the first time in history that Northern Ireland and the Republic will be on the opposite sides of a European border they joined together in 1973.

“Although the common travel area has been in existence since the early 1920s there were tough security controls and border checks during the Troubles.

“Isn’t it unthinkable that in an era of mass refugee migration and jihadi terrorism that the only land border between the UK and the EU would be completely open?”

Lord Younger meanwhile said the issue was at the top of the agenda, adding: “We want to have a soft border, not a hard border. All the parties are very aware of the security issues and people passing to and fro.”