DUP Irish Sea border row - Gavin Robinson responds to party chairman's claim NI public are being 'treated as fools'

Lord Morrow told the House of Lords on Tuesday that the continued influence of EU law in Northern Ireland had led to the “disenfranchisement of 1.9 million UK citizens who can no longer stand for election to make the laws to which they are subject in 300 different areas”.

The DUP chairman also said the green lane hasn’t gone – something the party leadership have claimed.

He said: “the green lane and the UK Internal Market system are the same thing. You cannot replace something with itself. The government are doing their best to pull off the sleight of hand of the century. But in my opinion, they have failed.

"The people of Northern Ireland are not fools. These regulations change nothing fundamentally in terms of what were called the red and green lanes until the week before last”.

Lords were scrutinising two pieces of legislation which formed part of the deal to restore Stormont.

Lord Morrow said: “What we need now is not statutory instruments, but a Prime Minister who is prepared to stand up for our country, namely the UK.

“He should declare the Windsor Framework void on the basis that it is not a valid treaty, because despite Article 1, the effect of the framework is to disrespect the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom which means that it is not a valid treaty.

“He should tell them that if they want to revisit the Trade and Co-operation Agreement they can, but they must realise that going forward the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom and the equal rights of its citizens to stand for election to make the laws to which it is subject are not, and I am emphasise, are not up for debate.”

Responding to criticism from Lord Morrow and Lord Nigel Dodds, the DUP deputy leader Gavin Robinson said: “they have never questioned what we have achieved as progress. Or indeed the commitment of Jeffrey and I to the cause”.

The East Belfast MP told the BBC’s Nolan Show: “they also know as colleagues – and friends of ours in this fight together – that none of this would have been achieved without the DUP. Without the position that we adopted, the stance we took… and more importantly, what we achieved in the removal of the green lane, the creation of a UK Internal Market system”.

Asked by Stephen Nolan if DUP chairman Lord Morrow is wrong when he says the green lane is still there, the party’s deputy leader said: “As a party we discussed this extensively and debated it over hours and came to a position which has the decisive majority of our executive. Or I can answer you in detail and tell you how the UK Internal Market system is different in substance, in law, from what was there under the framework”.

Lord Dodds told peers last night: “The critical question for many unionists in Northern Ireland, from various parties and none, is, ‘Do they remove the Irish Sea border and its cause, the subjection of Northern Ireland to foreign jurisdiction regarding the production of goods and agri-food – a large part of our economy?’ And the answer is that, looked at objectively, looked at clearly and forensically, that they clearly do not.

“Whatever else they represent, they do not remove at all the serious constitutional, democratic – and for many – economic damage of the protocol, Windsor Framework.”

He said the “overall package” put forward by the Government includes “things which are positive” such as the East-West Council, and “significant promises and pledges” have been made.

But he added the measures do not bind the Government into “not deviating when it suits them from Northern Ireland”.

Baroness Hoey said “not one word of the protocol rebrand that is the Windsor Framework has been altered”. She said the trade agreement “creates two classes of citizens”.

The former Labour MP said UK citizens in Wales, Scotland and England could “make all their laws to which they are subject… while in Northern Ireland we have the right to stand for election to make some of the laws to which we are subject”.

Crossbench peer Lord Bew suggested there were no alternatives to the route to restore Stormont ministers had taken.

He said: “Let’s be clear: there was no other way of doing it than the way the Government chose, none whatsoever, and everything else is just pie in the sky. There was only one way of doing it, and this command paper is part of the way of doing it.”

Northern Ireland minister Lord Caine told the Lords: “Let me just place on record the Government’s view that this legislation ensures that Northern Ireland’s constitutional status within the United Kingdom is put beyond any shadow of a doubt.

“That the presumption of automatic alignment with EU goods law is ended, Northern Ireland’s access to the UK internal market is safeguarded, treaties that might create barriers within the UK’s own internal market are prohibited, bills that are put before this House that impact trade with Northern Ireland will be rigorously screened, and the operation of a consent vote in the Assembly is enshrined.”

Peers gave their backing to the two statutory instruments without going to a vote.