Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson takes Derry election campaign to Strasbourg by sporting 'I'm voting Elisha - better for Derry' T-shirt in European Parliament

Ms. Anderson took to her feet in parliamentary chamber in the Louise Weiss Building said declared: "Madam President, whatever the outcome of the Westminster election on 12 December – and I will be voting for Elisha McCallion in Derry – whatever the latest decision on Brexit, the uncertainty and damage done to Ireland by its larger neighbour will damage the EU too.

"In April 2017, the European Council said reunification would result in the whole of Ireland automatically entering the EU. Partition is not only Ireland’s problem, it’s now the EU’s problem too, and Irish unity is the solution for Ireland and for the EU," she said.

The former MLA and junior OFMDFM minister returned to a familiar theme, stating that Irish unity remained the obvious way out of the Brexit impasse.

"If you want to protect EU citizens from post-Brexit Britain’s lower standard of goods entering your market, then you need to help remove the British border in Ireland. Its democratic removal is outlined in the Good Friday Agreement, so support the constructive and positive debate about constitutional change in Ireland," she stated.

The Derry woman went on to claim that Young Fine Gael was supportive of a border poll.

"Even the Fine Gael government’s youth wing has called for a unity referendum within five years. Irish unity is no longer an aspiration: it’s a project. A wise European Council would know that, and only a foolish one would ignore it," she said.