Brexit will not divide Britain, insists May as N Ireland border issue remains

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May rejected any plans Wednesday that would mean a Brexit border between Northern Ireland and neighboring Irish Republic.

Speaking to MPs in the House of Commons during her weekly prime minister's questions, May said no British prime minister could ever agree to a Brexit treaty that would see borders dividing any parts of Britain.

Responding to a question by the Northern Ireland DUP MP David Simpson, May confirmed she will never agree to any trade borders between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain.

May said she stood by commitments she has made previously on the border issue. She said the draft legal text the European Commission had published would, if implemented, threaten the constitutional integrity of Britain by creating a customs and regulatory border down the Irish Sea, adding: "No UK prime minister could ever agree to it."

May added: "I will be making it crystal clear to (European Commission) President Jean-Claude Juncker and others that we will never do so. We are committed to ensuring that we see no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, but the December text also made clear that there should continue to be trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom as there is today."

Main opposition leader Labour's Jeremy Corbyn accused May's government of being in disarray over Brexit.

May insisted there was no disagreement with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on the Irish border question. "The foreign secretary and I are absolutely committed to ensuring that we deliver no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland," May told Corbyn.

She added: "That's the position of the UK government. It's the position of the parties in Northern Ireland, it's the position of the Irish government, and it was what we agreed in the December agreement of that joint report."

Labour's Shadow Brexit Secretary Kier Starmer said: "The EU-UK government war of words needs to end. There can be absolutely no deviation from the solemn commitments made to Northern Ireland at the end of the first phase of Brexit negotiations. That means no hard border or any agreement that would undermine the Good Friday Agreement."