Truss: protocol was ‘temporary’
LIZ TRUSS said yesterday that she had voted for the Northern Ireland Protocol to “get Brexit done” and claimed she backed the Irish Sea border treaty because she thought it would be changed.
The Foreign Secretary said she did not regret supporting the deal but insisted it was undermining the Good Friday Agreement.
Ms Truss on Monday called on MPS to back the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which will give ministers the power to unilaterally tear up parts of the treaty.
Despite warnings the Bill breaks international law and threats of a trade war with the EU, MPS voted 295 to 221 to give it a second reading on Monday.
“We needed to deliver on Brexit, we needed to get Brexit done,” she told the Belfast Telegraph.
“I think our expectation was that we would see more flexibility from the EU [in being willing to change the text] given the history in Northern Ireland,” she said.
The UK has demanded Brussels renegotiate the protocol to remove many of the checks imposed on British goods entering Northern Ireland. The EU will not renegotiate the whole treaty but says it can find solutions within its legal framework.
Asked if the UK was prepared to risk the wrath of Joe Biden’s White House by tearing up the protocol, she said: “We have to act in the best interests of the United Kingdom.” Ms Truss said that the legislation was needed even though the protocol’s Article 16 allowed either party to unilaterally override parts of the treaty.
The Government argues the treaty is putting the peace process at risk because it has lost the consent of Unionists. The DUP is refusing to enter into power-sharing at Stormont until the protocol is removed or replaced.
“We have a very serious situation where the Belfast/good Friday Agreement is being undermined, we need to put in place a durable solution that fixes that,” Ms Truss said.
Supporters counter that the protocol protects peace by preventing a hard border on the island of Ireland and gives Northern Ireland unique access to markets in the UK and in the EU.