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Government plans allowing ministers powers to override parts of the post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland could become law “fairly rapidly”, Boris Johnson has suggested.
MPs are set to vote on the controversial new legislation – which contains measures to remove checks on goods and animal and plant products travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland – on Monday.
Speaking ahead of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill’s second reading in the Commons, the prime minister told broadcasters that, parliament willing, the legislation could be enacted “very fast”.
“What we are trying to do is fix something that I think is very important to our country, which is the balance of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement,” he told reporters at the G7 Summit in Germany.
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“You have got one tradition, one community, that feels that things really aren’t working in a way that they like or understand, you’ve got unnecessary barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
“All we are saying is you can get rid of those whilst not in any way endangering the EU single market.”
Asked if the measures could be in place this year, Mr Johnson replied: “Yes, I think we could do it very fast, parliament willing.”
The prime minister noted that it would be “even better” if the European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic could show some “flexibility”, adding: “We remain optimistic.”
Earlier on Monday, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also defended the government’s plans on social media.
She tweeted: “It will fix problems the protocol has created in Northern Ireland and uphold the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
“Our preference remains a negotiated outcome, but EU continues to rule out change to protocol.”
Unionist opposition to the imposition of checks has seen the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refuse to return to the power sharing executive in Northern Ireland, leaving the region without a…
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Source : skynews
