Boris Johnson must act unilaterally over the Protocol, Jeffrey Donaldson says

By PA

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it was now time for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to act unilaterally over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

“Every day that this protocol remains in place, it is harming the economy of Northern Ireland," he said.

"It is harming our access to medicines.

“I want the government to step up to the mark and do what they said six months ago when they published their command paper.

“Back then, in July, the government accepted that the conditions had been met to trigger Article 16 and for the UK Government to take unilateral action to remove the barriers to trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

“I have tried to be reasonable, I have given time and space to these negotiations.

“I think we have reached the point now where if we don’t get progress then the UK Government has to call it, and that is why I am saying the Prime Minister is faced with a choice, and I think that choice will come very early in the new year.

“This can’t go on. I am saying to the prime minister, it is time for you to act, this is simply unacceptable.”

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he felt that Lord Frost believed the time was “fast approaching” when the UK Government needed to act unilaterally over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Sir Jeffrey told the BBC:

“I have to say from the conversations I had with Lord Frost, he was concerned that there is still a very substantial gap between the EU and the UK in the negotiations.

“He felt, I think, that we were fast approaching the time when the UK Government needed to take unilateral action.

“I do think that it harms the government’s position when you lose your chief negotiator in these circumstances and I think that the prime minister needs to get to grips with this issue.

“He needs to recognise this is a priority issue, alongside the other priority issues, that he is dealing with at the moment.

“Whilst I welcome the appointment of a senior cabinet minister, Liz Truss, to take on the role of chief negotiator, we need to see a much sharper focus now on getting this sorted out.”

Lord Frost, asked if Boris Johnson is the right man to carry on as prime minister, told Sky News:

“The departure is about policy differences, and I’m absolutely confident that he’s the right man to take the country forward.”

Asked if more ministers will resign if Mr Johnson implements further Covid restrictions, Lord Frost said:

“I can’t speak for anybody else, I can only say what I think, which is that I don’t support coercive policies on Covid.

“The prime minister has got some very difficult decisions to take and I’m sure he’ll be thinking very hard at them.”

Former Brexit minister Lord Frost has insisted he “never disagreed in any way” with Boris Johnson about Brexit policy, adding:

“Right up to the last day we’ve been absolutely aligned on that, and Liz Truss and Chris Heaton-Harris I’m sure are going to do a great job.

“I left the government because, as I think is well known, I couldn’t support certain policies – most recently on Covid restrictions and Plan B.

“And if you’re a minister you have to support collective responsibility, you have to support decisions of the government, and I couldn’t, so that’s why I had to leave.”

Lord Frost said his resignation was “absolutely not about leadership”, adding to Sky News:

“I’m absolutely confident this country has a great future under Boris Johnson’s leadership if we can get the policies right.”

(Lord Frost)