Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe said on Tuesday that the prospect of Britain leaving the EU without a deal was now more likely than it had been.

Both candidates to replace Theresa May as UK prime minister, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, have said that they would be prepared to pursue a no-deal Brexit if necessary.

They have ruled out accepting an Irish backstop, an insurance policy to prevent the return of border controls within Ireland, Reuters reports.

“I followed what was said last night in relation to the contenders for leadership of the Conservative Party… The Irish government and the EU are really clear that we will not be changing the content of the backstop agreement,” Donohoe said.