Rishi Sunak seeking 'urgent clarification' that Irish government will not erect border checkpoints to stop asylum seekers amid criticism of Dublin 'hypocrisy'

​He was responding to remarks by DUP MP Carla Lockhart, who contrasted the rumours that Garda officers have been sent to beef up border security to deter NI to ROI immigration with the Irish government’s previous refusal to countenance any infrastructure on the border, post-Brexit.

“Everyone in this house will recall the former Irish prime minister in Brussels with a photograph of a bombed customs post, lamenting that any border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was unworkable, in breach of the Belfast Agreement and could result in such troubles again,” she told MPs.

“The hypocrisy of the Irish government position has not been not lost on us, with the Irish police now tasked to patrol the border to protect from the unsubstantiated, unfounded 80% of asylum seekers who supposedly – actually, the reverse is true – make their way to the Republic of Ireland from the UK via Northern Ireland.

“Will the prime minister challenge and call out those actions, and confirm what representations he has made to the Irish prime minister and the Irish justice minister about the integrity of our UK border?”

Mr Sunak responded: “The house will be aware that we have made commitments to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. The honourable lady makes a very important point that the Irish government must uphold their promises, too. We cannot have cherry-picking of important international agreements.

“The secretary of state is seeking urgent clarification that there will be no disruption or police checkpoints at or near the border.”

Taoiseach Simon Harris later confirmed there will be no police sent to border areas.

Asked if the UK government had sought clarification from Dublin that there will be no police checkpoints at the border, Mr Harris said he had “no idea”.

Speaking in Dublin about reports of border police, he said: “Of course there won’t be.

“I’m not getting involved in British politics and I’m very well aware there is local elections due in the UK tomorrow and I’ve no interest as taoiseach of this country of being involved in day to day back and forth in the House of Commons.”