Mandarins say no-deal Brexit may force them into decisions that could endanger officials

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Civil servants in Northern Ireland are increasingly concerned that a no-deal Brexit could push them towards taking policy decisions that make public servants the target of dissident paramilitaries.

After the suspension of Stormont more than two years ago, mandarins in the region say they fear they are being asked to make decisions that were once made by members of the assembly.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, this could mean taking decisions about the border that could endanger fellow officials, police and border guards, sources have told the Guardian.

“We are already making decisions which should be taken by ministers because they are controversial and can be unpopular. How can we be expected, if there is no deal, to make decisions about the border when the Troubles revolved around that same border?” one said.

Their comments came a day after David Sterling, Northern Ireland’s most senior civil servant, suggested there may have to be a hardening of the border in the event of the UK crashing out of the EU.

Security sources claim that republican dissidents such as the New IRA are recruiting fresh members amid mounting anger over Brexit and the possibility of a hard Irish border.

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents the UK’s senior civil servants, told the Guardian politicians were increasingly trying to blame civil servants for making decisions in their absence.

“With politicians on both sides of the Irish Sea unwilling to govern, the civil service is left to operate within an ambiguous framework that – at best – defaults to status quo,” he said.

“Worse may yet be to come. A hard Brexit would put civil servants in the invidious position of having to take decisions with profound implications for the peace and prosperity of Northern Ireland, the consequences of which do not bear thinking about.”

Stormont’s stalemate began in January 2017, when the power-sharing partnership of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and Sinn Féin fell apart. The final row between them was over a botched green energy scheme, the renewable heat incentive.

Legal uncertainties about the power of civil servants in Stormont were successfully challenged last month in Belfast high court. A group of landowners launched a legal challenge to halt the Department for Infrastructure’s decision to approve a £250m electricity interconnector between counties Tyrone and Meath, which was signed off by civil servants.

Officials are braced for further controversy over the development of a goldmine in the Sperrin mountains in County Tyrone, which is being opposed by local protesters.

Northern Irish civil servants are in talks with the British government about plans for Westminster to pass domestic abuse legislation for the region, it emerged on Tuesday.

In a letter to Stormont’s parties on Tuesday, Sterling wrote that a no-deal exit could have a “profound and long-lasting impact” on society in Northern Ireland.

In the event of no deal, agri-food products from Northern Ireland could continue to enter the Republic of Ireland only if arrangements were put in place to collect tariffs and “fulfil other regulatory obligations”, he said.

Counter-terrorism police have launched an investigation after three of London’s main transport hubs were targeted with small incendiary devices.

The packages were discovered at the head offices of Heathrow and City airports as well as the post room at Waterloo, London’s busiest train station, within the space of two hours on Tuesday morning.

The gardaí is believed to be examining whether the letters were sent by the dissident Irish republican factions the Real IRA or the New IRA.