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The Government accepted a string of amendments to the Budget last night, threatened with an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the DUP.

The hardline Northern Irish party are effectively 'on strike', tearing up their voting deal with the Government and vowing to abstain on Budget votes for a second day running.

It leaves Theresa May seven votes short of an effective majority in the House of Commons and vulnerable to defeats if only a few Tory rebels abstain or side with the opposition.

DUP sources tonight told the Mirror their Westminster MPs planned to continue abstaining in votes on the Finance Bill in protest over Mrs May’s Brexit deal.

After the votes were pulled, a Labour MP told the Mirror it was "extraordinary".

They said: "We all ran over to vote and were told they had caved...!!"

The hardline Northern Irish party had promised to vote with the Government on key legislation, in a pact worth £1 billion after the PM lost her majority at last year’s election.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

The party, led by Arlene Foster, are opposed to Mrs May’s draft Brexit deal, which they say creates a ‘border’ down the Irish Sea.

The DUP’s deputy leader Nigel Dodds urged Mrs May to “work towards a better deal” for the good of the Union.

He said: “The Government will require DUP support to deliver its domestic agenda. We will continue to use our influence for the good of everyone across the United Kingdom.”

DUP MP Sammy Wilson said Mrs May’s government had “torn up” promises made over Brexit, and the party “had to do something to show our displeasure.”

Mr Dodds said that the agreement with Conservatives committed the DUP to pursue the shared objectives of strengthening the Union and seeking a Brexit that benefits all parts of the UK.

(Image: Getty Images)

While the DUP had "kept to our word" on the agreement, the resignation of several Conservative ministers showed that Mrs May's deal "does not represent those shared objectives", he said.

He added: "The Government will require DUP support to deliver its domestic agenda. We will continue to use our influence for the good of everyone across the United Kingdom.

"If the Government can look beyond a Withdrawal Agreement, which is uniting people from across the political spectrum against it, and instead work towards a better deal, then an outcome can be delivered that truly works to benefit all parts of the United Kingdom."

Both Brexiteer Boris Johnson and Chancellor Philip Hammond are due to attend the DUP's conference at the weekend, according to Co Fermanagh newspaper the Impartial Reporter.