M&S boss and ex-Tory MP says the government's approach to Protocol is 'baffling'

Archie Norman – who has been chairman of M&S since 2017 – was quoted as such in a BBC report, making him just the latest business figure to voice concerns about big firms’ willingness to sell into Northern Ireland if it means having to hack through fresh red tape.

It comes ahead of a meeting of a parliamentary committee this afternoon which will take a further look at the effect Brexit has had on medicine supplies.

In short, a theme is emerging in which major importers and retailers are complaining that since goods going from GB to Northern Ireland may require their own tailored packaging (such as a label saying ‘only for sale in the UK’), or NI-specific certificates, it may not be worth their while to bother selling in the Province.

The BBC quoted Mr Norman (who was a Tory MP for Tunbridge Wells from 1997 to 2005) as saying any solution to Protocol-related bureaucracy needs to be fully digital, in a letter from his firm to foreign secretary James Cleverly.

He said that "retailers already operate in real time digital information – day or night, at the click of a button, we can locate our products, be that in a depot, in transit or in a store".

Mr Norman added: "In a digital era – when one tap of a mobile can check-in a customer at store and locate their order in under 60 seconds – it's baffling that the government and the EU have rewound four decades to discuss an expensive 'solution' involving stickers and labelling.”

This could entail "overbearing and prohibitive costs" for retailers, he said.

Three weeks ago the News Letter reported on how a major report by the Nuffield Trust (a major health think-tank) had found the Protocol is “leading to different mix of medicines being available [in Northern Ireland] compared to the rest of the UK”.

It went on to add that of 597 medicine products regulators had approved for Great Britain since the start of 2021, “only eight were also approved for Northern Ireland under the same name and company” and “the number of products now available in Scotland, England and Wales but not Northern Ireland is likely well into triple figures”.

Empey expecting ‘more bad news’ on medicines when Protocol group meets today