Leo Varadkar talks up prospect of troops on Irish border after a ‘no deal’ Brexit

During a television interview at the World Economics Forum in Davos, Mr Varadkar said a hard border might lead to “a police presence, or an army presence to back it up”.

He also warned that “in the context of Irish politics and history...those things become targets”.

His comment sparked a backlash from unionists who dismissed the claims as “unhelpful” and “foolish”.

DUP MEP Diane Dodds said: “The taoiseach losing the run of himself again”.

Mrs Dodds tweeted: “Deeply unhelpful and foolish comments which he knows are nonsense. Also very irresponsible given the connotations.”

Her party colleague Gregory Campbell MP said: “It begs the question why there were numerous scare stories about fences, walls, violence and checkpoints?

“Why were genuine border communities fed a diet of doomsday scenarios about queues at the border, no more cross border trains, the lights going out? All the scare stories lie exposed as nothing more than spin and an attempt to manipulate the fears of good people living in border communities.”

In the interview with Bloomberg TV, Mr Varadkar was asked to “paint a picture of what that border is going to look like?”

He replied that in a worst-case scenario, a hard border could “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,”

Mr Varadkar went to say that Ireland had already agreed to address some of the UK’s main concerns, and added: “Why is it that the country that is being victimised is the one that’s always asked to give?”

Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson said the taoiseach’s interview “evokes memories of the days of Charlie Haughey” and added: “This is very serious talk from Mr Varadkar and will only serve to wind things up.

“Why would he want to raise the prospect of putting Irish troops on the border at such a sensitive point in negotiations?”

Steve Aiken, UUP MLA for South Antrim, said: “With the continued uncertainty in Brexit negotiations, this is a time for cool heads. In that context, it is shocking that Leo Varadkar should throw comments in about soldiers on the border. Instead of reducing tensions, he is ramping them up.”

Within hours of Mr Varadkar’s interview, the Irish government issued a statement playing down the significance of the taoiseach’s claims.

A spokesman said: “The taoiseach made it clear in the interview that the government is determined to avoid a no deal scenario and the consequent risk of a hard border.

“He was asked to describe a hard border, and gave a description of what it used to look like, and the risk of what it could look like in the worst case scenario. He was not referring to Irish personnel and the Irish government has no plans to deploy infrastructure or personnel at the border.”

Commenting on the prospect of technology being used to avoid the need for a hard border, Mr Varadkar said: “They don’t exist and nobody has been able to show them to me.”