Theresa May: UK wants to 'enhance strongest possible relationship' with Ireland

She added that she was committed to the Good Friday Agreement and its successors.

She said she wanted to “affirm my commitment to delivering a Brexit that ensures no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which is unshakeable”.

Theresa May said that while she had tried to make the case for the Withdrawal Agreement, she had had to accept it would not get through the British Parliament in its current form.

“I fought hard to make the case for the deal as it stands,” she said.

“I believed it could command a majority in the House of Commons but I have had to face up to the fact that in its current form it cannot and the need for changes to the backstop is the key issue.

“While there were those in Northern Ireland who favoured it, it is also true that the backstop is not supported by the two main Unionist parties here and it also influenced MPs in England, Scotland and Wales in voting against the deal.”

The British Prime Minister acknowledged the importance of a seamless border and how the current arrangements had helped “deliver peace and prosperity”.

She said: “While I have said that technology could play a part and that we will look at alternative arrangements, these must be ones that can be made to work for the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland.”

Mrs May added: “Northern Ireland does not have to rely on the Irish Government or the European Union to prevent a return to borders of the past.

“The UK Government will not let that happen. I will not let that happen.”

Mrs May said she was “determined” to work towards a solution to the border question that can command support from across the country, as she reiterated that there will be no hard border.

She said: “I know that the prospect of changing the backstop and reopening the Withdrawal Agreement creates real anxieties here in Northern Ireland and in Ireland, because it is here that the consequences of whatever is agreed will most be felt.

“I recognise too that the majority of voters in Northern Ireland voted to remain and that many will feel that once again decisions taken in Westminster are having a profound and in many cases unwanted impact in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

“So I’m determined to work towards a solution that can command broader support from across the community in Northern Ireland.”

Mrs May added: “We stand by our commitment in the Joint Report that there will be no hard border – including any physical infrastructure or related checks and controls.”

“I know this is a concerning time for many people here in Northern Ireland.

“But we will find a way to deliver Brexit that honours our commitments to Northern Ireland, that commands broad support across the communities in Northern Ireland and that secures a majority in the Westminster Parliament, which is the best way to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.

“As we do so, I hope we can also take steps to move towards the restoration of devolution, so that politicians in Northern Ireland can get back to work on the issues that matter to the people they represent.

“For, ultimately, the measure of this moment in Northern Ireland’s history must be more than whether we avoid a return to the challenges of the past. It must be how, together, we move forwards to shape the opportunities of the future.

“As Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, it is a profound honour and duty to play my part in shaping that future and to do my utmost to support the peace, prosperity and progress that can give the people of Northern Ireland the brightest future for generations.”

Asked how she could convince the people of Northern Ireland to accept a Brexit deal which was stripped of the backstop, Mrs May said: “I’m not proposing to persuade people to accept a deal that doesn’t contain that insurance policy for the future.

“What Parliament has said is that they believe there should changes made to the backstop.

“And it is in that vein, in that light, that we are working with politicians across Westminster, across the House of Commons, but also will be working with others – with the Irish Government and with the EU – to find a way that enables us to maintain our commitments that we have set, very clearly, for no hard border, but to do it in a way that provides a Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration for the future that can command support across the House of Commons and therefore that we will be able to ratify with the EU such that we leave on March 29 with a deal.”

Mrs May said that the UK wanted to “maintain and enhance the strongest possible bilateral relationship” with the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.

“Today those ties of family and friendship between our countries are more important than they have ever been,” she said.

“And I believe there’s a yearning in the hearts of all the people of these islands for a close, trusting relationship between all of us, and an absolute horror that we should take even a single step backwards in the progress we’ve collectively achieved.”

Mrs May said she wanted to work closely with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Irish Government to strengthen the bilateral relationship.

“As we leave the EU, we will need to establish new ways of coming together to develop further our unique relationship,” she said.

This could involve annual ministerial meetings and collaboration in areas like construction and smart cities, said Mrs May. And she restated the UK Government’s readiness to support the “tantalising possibility” of a joint UK/Ireland bid for the football World Cup in 2030, if the countries’ football associations decide to mount one.