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Theresa May’s political weakness was brutally exposed to Brussels on Monday as an agreement struck between Britain and the EU to solve the problem of the Irish border and move to the next phase of Brexit talks was torpedoed by a last-minute telephone call with the leader of the Democratic Unionist party. Confidence early on Monday that an agreement was within reach came to nothing when, during a working lunch with the European commission president, Jean Claude Juncker, May was forced to pause discussions to take a call from Arlene Foster. The unionist leader, whose party currently provides the Tories...

DUP leader Arlene Foster is rejecting pressure to introduce same-sex marriage and abortion in Northern Ireland, saying her support for traditional marriage and the unborn is resolute. Speaking on Monday, Mrs Foster expressed sadness that opponents of redefining marriage are branded ‘homophobic’ and ‘haters’. And following a separate meeting with pro-life supporters, she said the party would do everything in its power to uphold Northern Ireland’s current law on abortion. Westminster pressure Last week, a gay pride event in Belfast called for the introduction of same-sex marriage. The UK Government approved the flying of the LGBT ‘rainbow’ flag at an...