Boris Johnson was issued a dire warning against delivering a no deal Brexit which could put at risk the survivability of the Good Friday Agreement. The 54-strong Friends of Ireland caucus in Congress claimed they will not allow a potential deal with the UK through Congress unless they had the certainty Brexit would not harm peace relations on the isle of Ireland. Professor John Ryan, from the advisory organisation Brexit Partners, told RT UK: “The Irish-American lobby is one of the most influential lobbies in the United States.

“Also voters, 33 to 34 millions Americans identify themselves as Irish-American, they are very strong in Congress. Even Pelosi, who is the Speaker of the House in the House of Representatives, she is an Italian-American but her son-in-law is Irish-American.

“They are in very influential positions but they are not only in the Democratic Party, but they are also in the Republican Party as well.”

Boris Johnson insisted last month he would strive to secure a trade deal with the United States to come into effect shortly after Brexit but the latest warning from the US Congress would complicate his plans.

Prof Ryan continued: “They hold great store by the Good Friday Agreement.

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“The President would not be able to push a deal through. He has already been unable to push his Mexico and Canada deals through.”

Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal, the head of the Friends of Ireland caucus, insisted the group would have “little enthusiasm” to approve of a deal if the Good Friday Agreement were to come under threat.

Mr Neal said: “We oversee all trade agreements as part of our tax jurisdiction.

“I would have little enthusiasm for entertaining a bilateral trade agreement with the UK, if they were to jeopardise the agreement.”

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Mr Neal also warned a new trade partnership between the UK and the US could take as much as five years to finalise even if Brexit left the peace agreement in Northern Ireland unaffected. 

The Republica co-chair of the caucus, Pete King, insisted members of his party would be willing to defy President Donald Trump’s plans in order to protect the agreement and said threats to the border are “needless provocation.”

Mr King said: “I would think anyone who has a strong belief in Northern Ireland and the Good Friday agreement the open border would certainly be willing to go against the.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had previously warned the British Government would have “no chance whatsoever” of snatching a trade deal with the US in the event of a break in the peace accord.

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Boris Johnson has remained adamant he will deliver a no deal Brexit unless the European Union agrees to remove the contentious Irish border backstop from the withdrawal agreement Theresa May negotiated with the bloc last year.

The backstop, which was originally designed to ensure no hard border would return on the isle of Ireland in the event of a no deal, sparked the ires of Brexiteers concerned the policy could be used as a ploy to keep the UK closely aligned to both the single market and the customs union.

Despite refusal from both Brussels and Ireland to budge on the backstop, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Thursday conceded his country would face catastrophic consequences unless a deal was secured with the UK.

Speaking in Kilkenny, Mr Varadkar said: “A no-deal Brexit would have very serious impacts on the economy, north and south, and on Britain.

“It could have security implications as well and it could have constitutional implications. It’s something that we have to prepare for nonetheless. It is something we should be afraid about.”

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