Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland's First Minister attends a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Britain, October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - The head of Northern Ireland’s DUP party, which is propping up Britain’s Conservative government, said on Tuesday that there could not be any barriers between the province and the rest of the United Kingdom after Brexit.

Northern Ireland’s border with the Republic of Ireland will become the UK’s only land border with the European Union after Brexit, raising the unpopular prospect of border controls and customs checks.

“I have already said how important the UK single market is for Northern Ireland so there cannot be any barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, Foster told a breakfast meeting on the sidelines of the Conservative conference in Manchester.

“I am saying that we believe, in relation to leaving the European Union, that we should leave the customs union and we should leave the single market. You can’t be any clearer than that.”