Unionist leader says Brexit deal could sink N Ireland govt

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The leader of Northern Ireland’s largest British unionist party says the U.K.’s divorce deal with the European Union could collapse the Belfast government and trigger a new era of violence and instability. Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson said Thursday that the agreement known as the Northern Ireland Protocol “fundamentally undermines … the economic integrity of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland’s position in it.” He said the rules must be removed, and not just reformed. And he warned that “our political institutions will not survive a failure to resolve the problems.” U.K.-EU relations have been strained by post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is the only part of the U.K. that has a land border with the 27-nation bloc.