'Anxiety and fear' over Tory-DUP deal: Sinn Fein

A possible deal between the Conservative Party and Northern Ireland's unionist party is cause for concern, the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein says.

DUP leader Arlene Foster and DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds arriving at 10 Downing Street in London for talks on a deal to prop up a Tory minority administration Source: Press Association

A potential agreement for the Northern Irish unionist DUP to prop up a minority Conservative government led by Theresa May in Britain is causing anxiety and fear in the province, Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein says.

The Conservatives need the DUP's 10 votes to achieve a working majority in parliament, but some have expressed fears that it could undermine a peace settlement that brought an end to three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

"This new arrangement is very unsettling, and people are concerned and wary of what it may mean, and what promises will be given, or promises extracted from Theresa May," said Michelle Gildernew, a lawmaker for Sinn Fein, on Tuesday

"There is a lot of anxiety and a lot of fear out of what is being discussed."

Former Prime Minister John Major earlier warned that a Conservative-DUP deal could create the perception that London was no longer an honest broker of the peace settlement in Northern Ireland.