DAVID DAVIS, the man charged with negotiating Britain out of the European Union has angered some over his comments on Ireland.
Mr Davis's new title is Secretary of State for Exiting the EU.
Speaking out against the idea of Scotland remaining within the EU post-Brexit on Sky News, Mr Davis appeared to suggest "southern Ireland" shared "internal borders" with the rest of the UK.
“One of our really challenging issues to deal with will be our internal border with southern Ireland and we are not going to go about creating other internal borders inside the United Kingdom,” said Davis, who was a guest on the weekly interview show Murnaghan on Sunday.
Scroll down to watch the clip...
On Monday, for the first time, Taoiseach Enda Kenny acknowledged the possibility of the need for a border poll on a united Ireland.
"The discussions and the negotiations that take place over the next period should take into account the possibility - however far out it might be - that the clause in the Good Friday Agreement might be triggered," said Mr Kenny.
"In that, if there's clear evidence of a majority of people wishing to leave the United Kingdom and join the Republic - that that should be catered for in the discussions that take place." he added.
On the same day newly appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire appeared to rule out the idea of the North remaining inside the EU.
Mr Brokenshire also ruled out a need for a poll on a united Ireland.
Meanwhile, Mr Davis's comments created a backlash on Twitter. See some of the tweets below.
One user compared the minister to a character from political satire comedy The Thick of It
Brexit minister David Davis thinks the UK has "an internal border with Southern Ireland". I can never watch "The Thick of It" again.
— Donal O'Keeffe (@Donal_OKeeffe) July 18, 2016
Others were vexed/bemused by the apparent mix up...
Just saw that David Davis "Southern Ireland" quote and any hope of me not spending the day screaming at the sky is gone
— John Gallagher (@earlymodernjohn) July 18, 2016
'Davis thinks the Republic of Ireland is part of the UK, because he is, in fact, a time traveller from 19th century' https://t.co/aBsHmxLFlM
— Maria Farrell (@mariafarrell) 18 July 2016
David Davis thinks there's somewhere called "southern Ireland". You could not make this farce up. https://t.co/IwVppWJLEB
— Éamonn Ó Catháin (@culabula) July 17, 2016
