Brexit: Theresa May warned hard Irish border can only be avoided if UK stays aligned with EU rules for time being

There is 'no evidence' for Prime Minister's hopes of a technical solution, Northern Ireland Affairs Committee warns

Theresa May is warned today that her pledge of no hard border in Ireland after Brexit can only be achieved if the UK remains aligned with EU rules for the foreseeable future, in a hard-hitting report by MPs.

There is “no evidence” of a technical solution to allow Northern Ireland to break free from the customs union and single market without the return of border posts and checks, their report concludes.

The Government’s existing proposals are dismissed as “blue sky thinking” which would be impossible to implement before Brexit day, now just one year away.

Crucially, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee also rejects “a customs border down the Irish Sea” – requiring the entire UK to stay aligned with the EU.

“The UK may need to remain in, or parallel to, the customs union and single market for the duration of the implementation period,” its report states.

That transition period is intended to conclude at the end of the decade – but the EU is insisting on continued alignment with Northern Ireland, unless a different solution can be found by then.

Significantly, Conservative and Democratic Unionist MPs on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee have put their names to the report’s conclusions.

Dr Andrew Murrison, its Tory chairman, said: “Brexit’s success or otherwise hinges on the UK-Ireland border. Everyone agrees that the border after Brexit must look and feel as it does today.

“However, we have heard no evidence to suggest that there is currently a technical solution that would avoid infrastructure at the border.”

And he added: “It is equally clear that regulatory and tariff alignment will be required during transition to avoid any hardening of the border before a definitive low-friction solution can be determined.”

The Prime Minister is also urged to recognise that the success or failure of Brexit “hinges on the UK-Ireland border”, by setting out clearly workable plans for the crossing “without further delay”.

The report is a stark challenge to Ms May, after she condemned the EU’s proposals for a “common regulatory area” across Ireland, to loud cheers from Tory MPs in the Commons.

She vowed to make her staunch opposition to a draft legal agreement “crystal clear” to EU leaders, saying: “No UK prime minister could ever agree to it.”

However, the EU has insisted it will not agree a Brexit deal this autumn unless a legal guarantee has been given to the Irish government.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly insisted there will be no “physical infrastructure” at the border after Brexit, but has failed to say whether cameras would be allowed.

The Independent revealed she had asked officials to study an EU plan that would involve CCTV and number-plate cameras – and pre-registration of travellers – praising its “very good proposals”.

In December, Ms May agreed to “full alignment” of regulations across the entire UK if necessary to avoid a hard border – but has since backed away from that agreement, putting her faith in technology to avoid checks.

The Northern Ireland committee’s report recommends an “impact assessment for the border each time it is proposed that there should be regulatory or tariff divergence from the EU”.

When the Northern Ireland Assembly is restored at Stormont, it should be asked to give “consent for regulatory derogations”.

The committee did not address concerns that the return of border posts would be a magnet for terrorists, but it did hear evidence that even military checks failed to seal the border during the Troubles.

A professor at Dublin City University said there were 33,000 soldiers in Northern Ireland, adding: “I do not think you will find a single officer who thought the border was sealed for one hour during that period. All the evidence is that it was not.”