LISTEN: Boris Johnson reportedly drawing up new legislation to override Brexit withdrawal agreement in NI

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Boris Johnson on a visit to Hillsborough last month

By Q Radio News

Boris Johnson is reportedly drawing up new legislation that will override the Brexit withdrawal agreement on Northern Ireland - a move that risks the collapse of trade negotiations with the European Union.

The Financial Times reports that sections of the Internal Market Bill, due to be published on Wednesday, are expected to "eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement" in areas including Northern Ireland customs and state aid.

A source told the FT that the move could "clearly and consciously" undermine the agreement on Northern Ireland that the prime minister signed last October to avoid a return to a hard border with the Irish Republic.

Asked about the report, a government spokeswoman said it was working to "protect Northern Ireland's place in our United Kingdom".

"We are working hard to resolve outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol through the Joint Committee and will continue to approach these discussions in good faith," she said.

"As a responsible government, we are considering fall back options in the event this is not achieved to ensure the communities of Northern Ireland are protected."

Union Jack and EU flags

However, Environment Secretary George Eustice said the Internal Market Bill, due to be published on Wednesday, was simply designed to tie up some “loose ends” where there was a need for “legal certainty”.

He insisted that the Government remained committed to the principles of the deal, which will see customs checks on some goods moving from the rest of the UK to Northern Ireland.

“What we are talking about here is what type of administrative customs processes you might have for goods that might be at risk of entering the EU single market – going from GB to Northern Ireland,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“These are important but minor technical details. The principle behind the protocol of checks on some of those goods entering through Northern Ireland ports is in the Northern Ireland protocol and we remain committed to it.”

The suggestion the UK could possibly undermine an international treaty and use Northern Ireland as a bargaining chip was greeted with anger and dismay among key figures in Ireland and mainland Europe.

The EU’s negotiator Michel Barnier said he would be seeking clarification about the UK’s plans.

Michel Barnier

He told French radio that honouring Withdrawal Agreement was “a pre-condition for confidence between us because everything that has been signed in the past must be respected”.

Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney said that abandoning the agreement would be “a very unwise way to proceed”.

In response, the Sinn Fén MP Chris Hazzard has said the British government is playing a dangerous game of chicken in its approach to the Brexit negotiations:

“The British government is once again showing an utterly reckless disregard for the north, our economy and our peace agreements by their approach to the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

“They are playing a dangerous game of chicken with our economy while the clock ticks towards a catastrophic crash-out Brexit.

“We also now have the bizarre and ludicrous spectacle of a DUP MP, known for ignoring science, now ignoring reality and castigating the business community for supporting vital measures to protect trade and jobs.

“The Irish Protocol contains unique and vital protections for the north which protects our economy, avoids any hardening of the border and protects the Good Friday Agreement and it must be maintained.

His Sinn Fein colleague, the deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill tweeted her views last night, saying any change to the NI protocol "would inflict irreversible harm on the all-Ireland economy, and GFA."

SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood also slammed Johnson's plans saying that his attempts to renege on the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, which he signed up to in October, would shred the British Government’s international credibility and could see the return of a hard border in Ireland.

The Foyle MP said that every international partner can now see that this British Government is an unfit partner to undertake negotiations with.

“In case there was ever any doubt, this confirms Boris Johnson’s adversarial relationship with the truth. After signing up to the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement in October, he’s now threatening to torpedo treaty obligations which, while far from ideal, protect the fragile progress made over decades in Ireland.

“The interests of people, businesses and communities in Northern Ireland are again being placed in extreme jeopardy as part of a political gambit by this inept government. We’re back to where we were a year ago - this government threatening a hard border in Ireland in the pursuit of some meaningless concept of sovereignty. Johnson still hasn’t learned the lessons of our past - you can’t eat a flag.

“These moves should send a very clear message to every international trading partner that the British Government is courting - Johnson is fundamentally untrustworthy and will renege on any commitment he makes if he senses some domestic advantage. 

“The SDLP will join with other parties at Stormont and in Westminster to resist any attempt to renege on the Ireland Protocol. "

Fellow MP, Stephen Farry of the Alliance Party said the plans "would risk hard border in Ireland and undermine GFA:"

In a different opinion the UUP party leader, Steve Aiken offered a cautious welcome to the news saying that if the reported proposals went ahead, it could be a "significant result for NI businesses and consumers alike."

He did however say on Twitter that the "NI protocol is in nobodies interest:"

Meanwhile DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said in a tweet: "You might want to wait until the Internal Markets Bill is published before you conclude we have no influence......."

Earlier, Mr Donaldson's colleague, Sammy Wilson MP "said the Withdrawal Agreement was "unacceptable" to his party.

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