No-deal Brexit: Leo Varadkar raises prospect of soldiers on Irish border if UK crashes out of EU

'The UK wanted a review clause in the backstop and we agreed to that, the UK wanted a UK-wide element, so why is it the country that is being victimised is the one that's always asked to give?'

Leo Varadkar has raised the prospect of the return of soldiers to the Irish border if Brexit goes “very wrong” under a no-deal scenario.

The explicit warning comes just hours after the Irish prime minister also suggested a chaotic exit from the EU could ruin Theresa May’s ability to negotiate free deals with other countries.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Varadkar claimed Ireland was being victimised in the Brexit process and his government would not give up on the backstop mechanism – the insurance policy to avoid a hard border after the UK leaves the bloc.

The Irish prime minister told Bloomberg News while the border at present was “totally open”, a worst-case scenario could mean it could “look like 20 years ago”.

He said a hard border could “involve people in uniform and it may involve the need, for example, for cameras, physical infrastructure, possibly a police presence, or an army presence to back it up”.

He continued: “The problem with that, in the context of Irish politics and history, is those things become targets. We’ve already had a certain degree of violence in the last few weeks.”

Shortly after the interview, an Irish government spokesperson insisted Mr Varadkar was making clear he is determined “to avoid a no-deal scenario and the consequent risk of a hard border”.

“He was asked to describe a hard border, and gave a description of what it used to look like, and the risk of what it could look like in the worst-case scenario,” they added.

“He was not referring to Irish personnel and the Irish government has no plans to deploy infrastructure or personnel at the border.”

Responding to Mr Varadkar’s remarks, Ed Davey, a Liberal Democrat MP, urged Ms May to rule out a no-deal Brexit, adding: “The Irish prime minister could not be more clear that Brexit is already posing a challenge to that hard-won peace. His warning today over the threat to the peace from a no-deal Brexit is surely the final argument Theresa May needs to take such a disastrous outcome off the table.

“It’s appalling that the Brexiteer Tories are willing to jeopardise peace in Northern Ireland for the sake of their Brexit obsession.”

But Mr Varadkar’s comments were criticised by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Gregory Campbell, who said he should “dial down the rhetoric”, adding: “This is deeply unhelpful talk.

“Mr Varadkar knows full well the connotations of such statements and he know’s its nonsense”.

The Irish prime minister also said in the interview that Brexit discussions had been dominated by speculation on its potential impact on trade and the economy, but that for Ireland it was about ensuring continued peace on the island and that the progress made in 20 years since the Good Friday Agreement was not lost.

He said that Ireland had already compromised in the Brexit negotiations and that the withdrawal of the UK from the EU was potentially going to cause a lot of harm to other countries. “We’re the ones already giving,” Mr Varadkar said.

“The UK wanted a review clause in the backstop and we agreed to that, the UK wanted a UK-wide element, so why is it the country that is being victimised is the one that’s always asked to give?”