Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland secretary, was in the province yesterday, where she visited the Farm Lodge campus of Northern Regional College in Ballymena MATT MACKEY/PRESS EYEA no-deal Brexit would increase the chances of an Irish reunification referendum under the terms of the Good Friday agreement, the Northern Ireland secretary has suggested. Karen Bradley is understood to have warned the cabinet this week that a border poll would be “far more likely” if the UK left the European Union without an agreement. On a visit to Belfast today she refused to comment on the remarks but added that she was well aware of her “statutory obligations” under the peace agreement. It states that the Northern Ireland secretary should call a referendum “if at any time it appears likely that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and…

Source: The Times January 11, 2019 17:03 UTC