BORDERS MP John Lamont insists he will not be ‘rushed or forced’ into making a decision on whether or not to back the draft Brexit agreement.

The Conservative member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk criticised the ‘knee-jerk reaction’ of some politicians last week – which saw Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and Esther McVey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, quit the cabinet.

Instead, Mr Lamont says he is taking his time to go through the 600-page document. And he has set up an online survey to get the views of locals.

He said: “While some politicians had a knee-jerk reaction to this deal, I have been carefully considering the agreement in detail before coming to a view as to whether it delivers for my constituents. Nicola Sturgeon told her MPs to vote against it before the deal was even published in what was a clearly cynical move.

“The House of Commons is expected to vote on whether to support the EU Withdrawal Agreement in December.

“The outcome of rejecting the deal is that the UK would, almost certainly, leave the EU without a deal.

“That is the reality of the situation. Deciding whether or not to support this deal will be one of the biggest decisions MPs will ever make.

“I will not be rushed or forced into reaching a position. I will not be bounced into making a decision for short term party political reasons.

“As I have said all along, my priority is to ensure that we get a Brexit deal that works for the Scottish Borders, for Scotland and for the whole of the United Kingdom.

“Given the lasting impact that this agreement will have on our country, it is important that we get it right.”

Mr Lamont this week admitted he was concerned over fishing rights and the Northern Ireland backstop agreement – which means Northern Ireland would stay aligned to some EU rules on the likes of food products and goods standards.

He added: “My initial reaction is that having a deal on the table to scrutinise is in itself a huge achievement, which brings long called for clarity for businesses and for EU citizens.

“It is a credit to the Prime Minister that she has achieved this despite so much resistance from the EU.

“However, I do have a number of initial concerns, in particular surrounding the provisions on rights to fish in UK territorial waters and around the Northern Ireland backstop arrangement. As unionist, I will find it very hard to support anything which attacks the integrity of the United Kingdom.

“Over the coming days, I will be looking closely at how this agreement will affect businesses and residents in the Borders before coming to a view about whether I can support it.

“I have already received many emails, but would encourage constituents to get in touch or complete my survey.

“I will also be speaking to ministerial colleagues to obtain further clarity on many of these issues.”

The survey is available at: www.johnlamont.org/eu-withdrawal-agreement