Mr Kruger said Reform is not “picking sides” in Northern Irish politics and “supports the commitment of every unionist to sustain the union”. The East Wiltshire MP was former prime minister Boris Johnson’s political secretary for a period in 2019 and defected from the Conservatives to Reform in September last year. “There clearly is an open border, an open back door to the United Kingdom, that is the north-south border in Ireland. Power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland were not operational for around two years as the DUP boycotted in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol and later the Windsor Framework. The East Wiltshire MP added that “the principle of cross-community consent has been junked”.

Source: The Herald March 21, 2026 19:27 UTC