Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NO BREXIT BACKDOWN
Johnson sticks to plan despite risk to US relations
BORIS Johnson will press ahead with controversial Brexit laws despite it threatening relations with President-elect Biden.
Joe Biden has warned Brexit must not harm peace in Northern Ireland.
But key clauses in the Internal Market Bill, which ministers have admitted break international law, could risk a hard border.
Angry peers voted down the measures in the House of Lords last night.
In a speech, Sir John Major said Britain’s global reputation had been damaged by the Government’s plan to override parts of the Brexit deal.
The Tory former PM described the move as “unprecedented in all our history – and for good reason”.
Tory ex-chancellor Lord Clarke accused the Government of acting like a “third-world dictatorship”.
Some Conservatives now want the Government to leave the disputed clauses out of the Bill when it returns to the Commons.
Labour l e a d e r Ke i r
Starmer wants the Bill to be scrapped entirely.
He said: “We will soon have a president in the Oval Office who has been a passionate advocate for the... Good Friday Agreement.
“He will take a dim view if our Prime Minister ploughs ahead with proposals to undermine that.”
But Mr Johnson claims his plan upholds peace in Northern Ireland. Asked if the PM would b back down, a No10 sourc source told the Mirror : “I wouldn’t hold your breath.” b Senior diplomats d have warned warn the PM that puttin putting an open border at risk r could hampe hamper efforts to strike a post-brexit trade deal with the United States.
They also say failing to strike a trade deal with the EU before 2021 makes a US deal all-but impossible.
Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier was in London yesterday for talks with UK equivalent David Frost.
The Government said it was open to a “sensible” fishing compromise.
UK car firms have spent more than £735million on Brexit preparations, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.