Unlimited Brexit backstop would leave UK trapped in unacceptable arrangements: DUP

Reuters
FILE PHOTO: DUP Leader Arlene Foster and DUP Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds speak to television crews outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

LONDON (Reuters) - A Brexit backstop which is not time-limited would leave Britain and Northern Ireland trapped in unacceptable arrangements until the EU decided otherwise, the deputy leader of Northern Ireland's DUP said on Friday. The backstop plan is designed to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and European Union member the republic of Ireland. "On many occasions both the PM and the Brexit Secretary said the backstop would be time-limited. This is critical," Nigel Dodds, deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which props up Theresa May's government, said on Twitter. "If it isn’t, then the UK including Northern Ireland would be trapped in unacceptable arrangements unless and until the EU decide otherwise," he said. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison)