Almost half of voters in Northern Ireland would support a united Ireland if Britain leaves the EU under the current withdrawal agreement, according to a poll commissioned by The Times.

The survey also found that a majority of voters in Northern Ireland support a second referendum on Brexit, while one in four unionists think the Democratic Unionist Party would be wrong to reject Theresa May’s withdrawal deal.

There was a big difference of opinion among unionists and nationalists about a second referendum. In total, 83 per cent of nationalists supported one while 27 per cent of unionists were in favour. Asked about a referendum on partition, the poll found 19 per cent of people wanted one “very soon” after the UK leaves the EU