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A former Tory minister has said MPs could vote to reduce time limits on abortion after Theresa May was forced to strike a deal with the socially hardline DUP .

Former Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson suggested the current 24-week time limit could be up for debate after the PM said she would form an alliance with the right-wing party, which has 10 seats in the Commons, to prop up her minority administration.

Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland unless a woman’s life is in danger or there is a serious or permanent risk to her mental or physical health.

The DUP has a long-held anti-abortion stance and has repeatedly opposed attempts to legalise it.

Last year, its leader Arlene Foster said: “I would not want abortion to be as freely available here as it is in England.”

Owen Paterson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't see many major social issues coming up in the next parliament.

"You might get a debate I suppose on further reduction of abortion times as medical science advances."

The Green Party have warned that a pact between the two parties would put women's rights at risk.

Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party, said: “The Tory-DUP coalition of cruelty is bad news for women.

"We may have seen a record number of women gain seats in the Parliament this week, but the 10 MPs of the anti-abortion, anti-equal marriage DUP look set to have a disproportionate influence which should concern us all.

“The DUP’s obstruction to legal abortion in Northern Ireland has left many women in dire circumstances, forced to travel to England where they are not entitled to NHS-funded terminations or face prosecution for seeking help at home.

“It is deeply concerning that a party responsible for so much pain could be in a position to exert so much influence. Women’s rights are under threat and we must work together to stop a lurch to the right under a Tory-DUP alliance.”

Mr Paterson also tried to allay fears that repealing gay rights would not be up for discussion since the DUP has consistently blocked th introduction of gay marriage.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the British Isles where same-sex marriage remains outlawed.

The Mirror