Dame Priti Patel: Former Home Secretary says EU control must end as she calls for government to reopen Windsor Framework

She also said that the integrity of the UK’s market should have been a red line in the Brexit deal her government signed.

Ms Patel called on the Conservative government to honour its manifesto pledge that Northern Ireland businesses would have ‘unfettered access’ to the UK market – and wants Rishi Sunak’s administration to “put an end to the tentacles of EU control over Northern Ireland”.

"For me, as a Conservative and Unionist, maintaining the integrity of the internal market should have been a red line in negotiations with the EU and while the Windsor Framework does improve the situation with some goods facing fewer barriers, the flow of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is still being disrupted. Northern Ireland also faces the ongoing imposition of EU rules affecting certain parts of its economy, which undermines democracy.”

Ms Patel – who backed the original Brexit deal which introduced the Irish Sea border – says she rebelled against her party to vote against the Windsor Framework deal because it “posed a risk to the integrity of our United Kingdom”.

“The internal market between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is of fundamental importance to businesses and communities on both sides of the Irish Sea and the Framework put that at risk and was a missed opportunity. The fact that problems and concerns still persist since the Framework was implemented shows that the deal agreed was sub-optimal and the Government must look to review it again”, she said.

The EU has ruled out renegotiating the Windsor Framework. However when asked by the News Letter last week, it did not rule out changes to customs processes under the deal – something the DUP leader has asked the government for. Speculation has increased that any deal between the DUP and the government will focus on an enhanced green lane, without the need for fundamental changes. However, Priti Patel suggests a more fundamental rethink of the deal is necessary.

"While both the UK Government and the EU have so far shown little interest in reopening the Windsor Framework, the economic pressures of friction to trade and the political need to get the Northern Ireland Assembly up and running again should move this up their list of priorities. Government satisfaction with the limited progress the Windsor Framework has made should not act as a block to seeking further progress to fully deliver our 2019 manifesto commitment and the promises made to Northern Ireland”, she said.

Dame Patel also argues that the ‘uncomfortable compromise’ of the NI Protocol was never a permanent arrangement. “When the UK left the EU to deliver the outcome of the Brexit referendum, so that the years of dither and delay could be overcome, the Northern Ireland Protocol was agreed. It was always a compromise that I and many others were deeply uncomfortable with, but it was always meant to be reviewed and changed. It was a temporary measure to support our departure from the EU while recognising that further work was needed to address concerns specific to Northern Ireland and the unique situation with the land border to the EU”.

Highlighting her party’s 2019 manifesto pledge of “unfettered access” for NI businesses to the rest of the UK, she argues that “No business should face a barrier or restriction to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and more work is needed to achieve this outcome. Technology, common sense and a dose of good faith should be at the forefront of the solutions needed to remove these barriers and put an end to the tentacles of EU control over Northern Ireland. The Government needs to act and the Conservative Party’s manifesto at the next General Election must reaffirm our commitment to Northern Ireland and the importance of securing the integrity of the internal market within the UK”.

In the article for Unionist Voice – run by the loyalist Jamie Bryson - Dame Patel also pointed to issues around the red lane for goods entering Northern Ireland. She said: "Many others hold concerns with the Windsor Framework and the way it has been implemented. In the summer a House of Lords Committee reviewing the implementation of the Windsor Framework raised concerns about the impact on trade where goods needed to go through the ‘red lane’, the complexity of regulation for business to understand and a range of other risks”.