After losing an historic vote in Parliament on Tuesday night, the British government was forced to publish its internal legal advice on Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal on Wednesday. The Conservatives’ governing partners, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), described the document as “devastating” proof that the backstop to the Brexit deal would create a border in the Irish Sea, legally separating Northern Ireland from the mainland. The Conservative Party does not command a majority in the House of Commons and would need to rely on support from the DUP to pass the deal. The DUP’s Nigel Dodds said: “This backstop is totally unacceptable to unionists throughout the United Kingdom and it must be defeated.” The rest of the opposition parties also poured scorn on May for attempting to conceal the legal advice.