Stanley Johnson has said irrespective of the solution for the border on the island of Ireland after Brexit if the Irish people "want to shoot each other, they will shoot each other".

Mr Johnson, a former MEP and father to former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, made the comments while appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain to discuss the possibility of Margaret Thatcher appearing on a £50 note.

The discussion then turned to the current political situation, and negotiations between the UK and EU set to take place in Brussels this week.

"It is quite intolerable that this whole question of a Northern Ireland border has come to dominate a decision about the future of our country," Mr Johnson said.

He was then asked by host Suzanne Reid how former Prime Minister Mrs Thatcher would have dealt with the Irish border issue.

"She would have said: 'look, if the Irish want to shoot each other, they will shoot each other whether there is a hard border or a soft border," Mr Johnson said.

"That it something the Irish will do if they want to do it."

At this point his fellow guest, former Labour MP George Galloway, interjected to say: "It is actually Britain who have shot most Irish people."

Mr Johnson added: "Mrs Thatcher would not have had any truck with this scheme by the EU to elevate the border question into a way of making sure we stay in the EU."

Despite his son Boris being a leading figure in the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, Mr Johnson backed Remain during the June 2016 referendum.

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He later expressed his frustration at the actions of the European Commission and declared his support for Britain leaving the EU.

In November last year he came to greater prominence as a contestant on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, becoming the fifth person to eliminated from the show.

He served as a Conservative MEP between 1979 and 1984.

Mr Johnson is also the father of Conservative MP Jo Johnson and journalist Rachel Johnson.

Belfast Telegraph