Leo Varadkar has today hinted that he could send the Army to the Irish border if there is a no-deal Brexit.
The Irish PM warned that a hard-border could see a return to the bloody violence which scarred the region during the Troubles.
In a heavy hint that soldiers could be deployed, he said it would ‘involve people in uniform’.
It comes just a day after Irish police chiefs were forced to deny they had drawn up secret plans to send 600 officers to beef up border security if Britain crashes out of the EU on March 29.
And he also lashed Theresa May’s stance in the negotiations, accusing Britain of victimising Ireland in the talks.
Leo Varadkar (pictured) has today hinted that he could send the Army to the Irish border if there is a no-deal Brexit
Speaking to Bloomberg TV in Davos today, Mr Varadkar warned of the dangers of a return to a hard border.
He said: ‘It would involve customs posts.
‘It would 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.
‘The problem with that in the context of Irish politics and history is those things become targets – and we’ve already had a certain degree of violence in the last few weeks.
‘I just don’t want to see that come back.’
Turning his ire on Number Ten, he said Ireland has already compromised in the talks to fit Mrs May’s red lines.
He said: ‘We’re the ones already giving.
‘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?’
And he insisted the Irish backstop must stay in any Brexit deal, dismissing suggestions that state of the art technology could be deployed to keep a soft border.
He said: ‘They don’t exist and nobody has been able to show them to me.
‘Why would we give up a legal guarantee and something we know will work in practice for a promise to sort it out later, or a promise to invent technologies?
‘That’s just not a serious position.
‘People who say they’re against a hard border and also against a backstop. That’s a contradiction.’
In another interview with Channel 4 News, he blamed the Brexit crisis on Britain.
He said: ‘I think that we should never forget that Brexit is problem created by Britain, so the onus is on them to come up with solutions, they’re the ones that have created this problem. We feel we’ve compromised a lot already.
‘Does that mean you won’t compromise, someone’s got to compromise here?’
His intervention comes after an Irish police commissioner denied the force had drawn up plans to send hundreds of officers to the border if there is a no-deal Brexit.
Police Commissioner Drew Harris, said: ‘Reports of 600 gardaí to be moved to the border are entirely incorrect.
‘I have not discussed this matter, neither have I considered this proposal.
‘The increasing deployment of gardaí to all policing regions including the northern region is commensurate with a growing organisation.
‘We continue to prepare for Brexit in line with government policy.’
Mrs May is battling to try to drum up support for her Brexit stance after her deal was overwhelming voted down by MPs.
But she is facing a fresh Cabinet meltdown after Philip Hammond today refused to rule out quitting if there is a no-deal Brexit.
The Chancellor warned of huge economic damage from crashing out, saying it would be ‘irresponsible’ for the government to press ahead.
Mr Hammond admitted some of his colleagues – including Amber Rudd – viewed next week’s Commons votes that could pave the way for a Brexit delay as ‘high noon’ – although he said he thought there was still time to defuse the crisis.
Asked repeatedly whether he would stay in No11 in that scenario, Mr Hammond said: ‘I’m not going to speculate because a lot depends on the circumstances, what happens.
‘The responsibility I have is to manage the economy in what is the best interests of the British people.
‘I clearly do not believe that making a choice to leave without a deal would be a responsible thing to do.
‘But I recognise that that is potentially a default that we could find ourselves in, and if we did find ourselves in that position then the responsible thing to do is to use every possible way of mitigating and minimising the impact.’