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A majority of British voters oppose the DUP deal to prop up the minority Tory Government.

An exclusive poll for the Record suggests 57 per cent of UK adults disagree with the arrangement, sealed in a controversial £1billion deal.

Just 32 per cent of respondents to the Survation phone poll backed the “confidence and supply” partnership, while 11 per cent weren’t sure.

Theresa May needs the DUP’s 10 MPs to pass key votes including her government’s budget.

Widespread opposition to the deal emerged as Tories were forced to defend the use of public cash for political advantage.

Conservatives spent £20,000 to fly DUP leader Arlene Foster to Belfast on an RAF plane after talks in Downing Street despite a range of available commercial flights being available.

One Tory backbencher, Heidi Allen, has expressed her “distaste” at the use of public money to win political control.

But Michael Gove, the UK Environment Secretary, defended the deal yesterday.

(Image: Reuters)

Asked if the £1billion was a “bung”, Gove told the BBC’s Marr show: “I think that’s unfair, I think that’s unfair to the people of Northern Ireland and I think it’s also unfair to the way in which during this negotiation decisions were taken in the interests of everyone in the United Kingdom.

“Bung is, the implication is... it implies this money is somehow going to the DUP on their own as if it were a partisan deal. It’s not. It’s about strengthening the whole United Kingdom by helping people in one of its most vulnerable areas.”

The SNP said the UK Government failed Scotland while lavishing cash on Northern Ireland.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Scottish Secretary David Mundell should have lobbied the Treasury for extra help.

“David Mundell has shown he is not fit for the job of Scottish Secretary and his credibility lies in tatters,” Blackford said.

“Why is it that 10 DUP MPs can extract £1 billion for Northern Ireland but 13 Scottish Tory MPs are unable to extract one single penny for Scotland?

“This whole episode has exposed Ruth Davidson ’s post-election boasts have been exposed as empty bluster.”

A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “Clearly the Conservatives did not win enough seats in the general election to secure a majority.

“The deal with the DUP was struck in the national interest to ensure that the UK had a stable government as we entered the Brexit negotiations.

“It is a confidence and supply agreement, not a coalition.

“That said, the Scottish Conservatives have sought and received categorical assurances from the Prime Minister that there will be no rescission of LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK and that we will continue to promote equal rights in Northern Ireland.”