Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“The suggestion that Article 50 could be extended is but a Remainer wheeze to ensure we don’t leave, as promised, on 29th March, or ever.
“Rather than allowing more time for meaningful negotiations it would entrench the EU in the belief that Brexit can be thwarted. It certainly would not bring Brussels to offer an acceptable deal. Only leaving with no deal will bring the EU, and particularly Dublin, to their senses. Then, and only then, will we get serious negotiations.
“A second deception which no one should fall for is that the EU which insisted on the Backstop – if we were foolish enough to accept it – would allow it to be superseded in trade negotiations by something which would liberate Northern Ireland from its grip. The principle of annexation of NI as an EU protectorate, once accepted, will not be reversed in any trade deal, because the EU (driven by Dublin) that got away it in the Backstop will make it the price of any trade deal outcome.
“So, anyone who thinks that suffering the Backstop would be short-term pain and merely temporary is deluded. If Mrs May’s deal was accepted, then, the principle of separate treatment and separation for Northern Ireland is accepted and will inform everything hereafter. Hence, the necessity of comprehensively rejecting and defeating this sellout deal. There is no room for compromise nor honeyed amendments. The toxicity of the legal text of the Agreement is unaffected by such empty gestures.”