13 June 2022
- Challenges Johnson’s suggestion that this is ‘not a big deal’
Responding to the expected publication of legislation to breach the Northern Ireland protocol the UK government signed up to [1], Molly Scott Cato, Green Party finance and economy spokesperson and former MEP, said:
“By publishing legislation to break their own agreement the UK government is showing itself to be an untrustworthy partner as well as undermining peace in Northern Ireland. They are also demonstrating that the claim during the 2019 election that they would ‘Get Brexit Done’ is a lie.
“Boris Johnson’s claim that breaking an international treaty he himself signed up to is ‘no big deal’ [2] demonstrates the deceitfulness of a Prime Minister who has lost the support of 40% of his own MPs. His authority to negotiate on behalf of this country is fatally undermined.
“There is a simple alternative available to the government – to negotiate with our European partners to agree a veterinary agreement and to rejoin the customs union. This would remove the need for most of the checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Instead, the Tories have chosen to sow division, provoke conflict with our closest neighbours and turn the UK into a pariah state.”
ENDS
Notes
1
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-61779169
2
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