Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“What was on offer today would not just have been a bad deal but destructive of the integrity of the United Kingdom.
“The suggestion of ‘regulatory alignment’ for part of the United Kingdom with the EU single market and customs union would have delivered a border at the Irish Sea. Such is a defining issue for the constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom and, therefore, could never be acceptable.
“It would also destroy our primary economic links and prosperity in circumstances where 87% of Northern Ireland sales are within the United Kingdom. Thus, anyone with the interests of Northern Ireland at heart could not do other than take a firm stand against such betrayal.
“Nor must today’s events be used as an excuse for the whole UK to stay in the single market or customs union. Such would defeat the purpose and effect of Brexit, which the people of the United Kingdom voted for and must obtain as a single and undivided nation.”