Lammy accuses ministers of “tearing up” Northern Ireland protocol with new bill

Labour’s David Lammy has accused ministers of “tearing up” the Northern Ireland protocol and damaging Britain’s reputation with the publication of the government’s controversial Northern Ireland protocol bill.

Liz Truss claimed that the proposed legislation, published this evening, would uphold the Good Friday Agreement and “support political stability in Northern Ireland” as well as ending the “untenable situation where people in Northern Ireland are treated differently to the rest of the UK”.

The Foreign Secretary argued the bill was a “reasonable, practical solution to the problems facing Northern Ireland”, adding: “As the government of the whole UK, it is our duty to take the necessary steps to preserve peace and stability.”

But Lammy described it as a “desperate attempt” by Boris Johnson to “distract” from his “leadership crisis”. The Shadow Foreign Secretary added: “It risks creating new trade barriers in a cost-of-living crisis and will only bring more uncertainty for the people of Northern Ireland who are trying to make the protocol work.

“Britain should be a country that keeps its word. By tearing up the protocol it negotiated just a couple of years ago, the government will damage Britain’s reputation and make finding a lasting solution more difficult.

“The EU must show more flexibility as Labour has said from the start. But this legislation is not the way to unlock progress. The government must now publish its legal advice in full and start acting responsibly to protect the Good Friday Agreement to support peace and prosperity.”

The bill proposes amending Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements. Critics of the move – including the EU and the Irish government – have said it breaches international law, which the UK government denies.

The government has published its legal advice alongside the bill, which states: “It is only in the challenging, complex and unique circumstances of Northern Ireland that the government has, reluctantly, decided to introduce legislative measures which, on entry into force, envisage the non-performance of certain obligations.

“It is the government’s position that in light of the state of necessity, any such non-performance of its obligations contained in the withdrawal agreement and/or the protocol as a result of the planned legislative measures would be justified as a matter of international law.”

European Commission vice president Maros Šefčovič said the EU was following the UK government’s decision with “significant concern” and argued that unilateral action is “damaging to mutual trust”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said it was “very regrettable” for the UK to “renege on an international treaty” and argued that it represented a “new low point”. He added: “In our view, the only way to resolve issues around the operation of the protocol is to have substantive negotiations between the UK and the EU.”

The DUP – the second largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly – has refused to form a new ruling executive unless changes are made to the protocol.

But, in an open letter to Boris Johnson today, 52 out of the 90 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) said they rejected the UK government’s plans to amend the protocol “in the strongest possible terms”. The letter was signed by all MLAs representing Sinn Féin, the Alliance party and the SDLP.

In an interview with LBC radio today, the Prime Minister said it was a “bureaucratic change that needs to be made”, telling listeners: “Frankly, it’s a relatively trivial set of adjustments.” He added that it would be a “gross, gross overreaction” and “preposterous” for the EU to respond by initiating a trade war.

Speaking to journalists earlier today, Keir Starmer said there are “some problems in the way the protocol works” but added that they can “resolved around the negotiating table with statecraft, with guile, with trust”.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have those in the current Prime Minister. They won’t be resolved with legislation that breaches international law and that, frankly, will impede the negotiations that, in the end, will be needed to settle this. So the government is going down the wrong track here,” the Labour leader added.