Northern Ireland could exercise Brexit veto, lawyer tells high court

The high court in Belfast has been told that Northern Ireland may be able to veto its exit from the European Union, after the region voted in favour of remaining in the bloc earlier this year.

A lawyer for anti-Brexit campaigners made the case on Tuesday, citing the 1998 Good Friday Agreement as giving the region control over certain constitutional issues.

Political leaders from the main nationalist parties in Northern Ireland have combined with human rights campaigners to bring the challenge to the courts.

"The people of Northern Ireland have control over constitutional change, it cannot be imposed upon the people of Northern Ireland," Ronan Lavery QC told the court.

"If that means that Northern Ireland could exercise a veto over withdrawal then I am [asserting] that is what Britain signed up to when it signed the Good Friday agreement," he added.

A majority of 56% of voters in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU in June's referendum, and political leaders have suggested being forced to leave the bloc would be harmful to the peace process.

The Irish government has been making preparations to request a special legal status for the country.

This has been escalated after musings from Theresa May's government suggested the favouring of a so-called "hard" Brexit, which would open the possibility of a physical border between the northern and southern segments of the island - even though 'Brexit secretary' David Davis insisted last month that there will not be a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.