Former UUP leader claims Northern Ireland to become overseas territory of the EU

Traffic crosses the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the village of Bridgend, Co Donegal. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Northern Ireland will become an “overseas territory” of the European Union under the Brexit divorce deal, ministers have been warned.

Ulster Unionist Party member Reg Empey, who sits in the House of Lords, claimed the protocol that requires EU customs rules to be applied to goods entering Northern Ireland is a “dagger pointed at the heart of the union”.