Irish premier Leo Varadkar declares his 'love' for the United Kingdom and voices concern for its future direction

Leo Varadkar made the comments today just ahead of a meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The taoiseach and Mr Sunak were at a meeting of the European Political Community in Spain; a newly-formed group created in the wake of the Ukraine invasion which brings together the leaders of 47 European states, including Turkiye and much of the Caucus region, but excluding Russia and its satellite state Belarus.

The PA news agency reported that, when asked if he was concerned about language coming from the Tory conference this week, Mr Varadkar replied: “I am, to be honest.

“The Britain, the United Kingdom that I love and admire is the country of the Magna Carta, the country that founded a parliamentary democracy and the country that helped to write the European Convention on Human Rights.

“And it does bother me to see the United Kingdom disengaging from the world, whether it’s reducing its budget for international aid, whether it’s leaving the European Union, and now even talking about withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, that’s not the Britain I know.”

The party Mr Varakar leads, Fine Gael, has its roots in the pro-Treaty faction of the Irish Civil War, which accepted the existence of Northern Ireland – albeit not on a permanent basis.

Officially, the party is called ‘Fine Gael: The United Ireland Party’ (and its youth wing is called ‘Young Fine Gael, the Young United Irelanders’).

The party’s position on reunification is set out on its website: “Bunreacht na hÉireann [the Irish constitution, forged in 1937] affirms our national aspiration for territorial unity.

"Fine Gael, the United Ireland Party, shares that aspiration based on the principle of consent and a clear majority, North and South, being in favour.

"We believe that uniting people is even more important than uniting territory.”

In a further statement ahead of today’s meeting with Mr Sunak in Spain, Mr Varadkar also said: “We will certainly discuss the issue of the UK legacy legislation [the de facto amnesty for Troubles crimes which took effect last month].

“That’s something the Irish government is very opposed to, so are the victims’ groups, so are the five main parties in Northern Ireland.

“We believe it is potentially a contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights and certainly I will be saying that to the Prime Minister.”

And after the meeting, PA reported a Number 10 Downing Street spokesman as saying: “The Prime Minister and Taoiseach shared their concerns about the continued absence of an executive in Northern Ireland and the democratic deficit this was causing.

“The Prime Minister set out the steps the UK is taking to ensure a return to powersharing and the two agreed to stay in close contact in the coming weeks.

"The two leaders also touched on their respective positions on the issue of legacy and agreed that teams should continue to stay in touch.

“The leaders also discussed a wider set of issues, including support for Ukraine and bilateral cooperation on security and migration.

"They also welcomed the recent UK-Ireland agreement on energy as a sign of the good working relationship between the two governments.

“The leaders noted the progress of the UK and Ireland’s historic joint bid to host Euros 2028.

"They talked about the potential of using the occasion to strengthen bilateral ties and leave a positive legacy in communities, including for grassroots football in Northern Ireland and elsewhere.”

More from this reporter:

• Tory veterans minister Johnny Mercer defends blanket Troubles amnesty saying party has 'ended the scourge' of criminal charges for ex-soldiers

• 'I wrote to the Prime Minister to correct her': Who is the likely new PSNI chief Jon Boutcher (and what are people saying about him)?

• Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin goes off-script to describe himself as republican not nationalist