DUP MP says Nigel Farage should 'set aside minor part' of Belfast Agreement to implement immigration policy
Nigel Farage should resist arguments from the “pro-immigration establishment” and be prepared to “set aside a minor part” of the Belfast Agreement if he wins power, Sammy Wilson has said.
Writing in today’s News Letter, the DUP MP also says that Ireland will either have to co-operate with any future Reform UK government on immigration, “or face disruption to the common travel arrangements”.
The East Antrim MP argues that as “the treacherous Tories proved” -only a parliamentary majority and political will is required “to change the very fundamentals of the Belfast Agreement”.
His comments come amid a growing debate within unionism about what a withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) would mean for Northern Ireland.
It was prompted by an assertion by the Reform UK leader last week that it would take longer for Northern Ireland to leave the treaty under his immigration plans, as he would “renegotiate” part of the deal.
The 1998 peace accord references the ECHR – and says Northern Ireland Assembly legislation must be in line with it. At the weekend, the think tank Policy Exchange said there is nothing in the deal which prevents the UK from leaving the convention, and that legislation such as the Human Rights Act could continue to apply in the province.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson has urged caution over ECHR withdrawal, saying that any attempts to deal with illegal immigration need to be practical, achievable and not damage the unity of the country.
He said “efforts shouldn’t be pursued, or supported if they would separate Northern Ireland, and actually see this part of the UK become a magnet for illegal migration”.
UUP MLA Doug Beattie has said such a policy would result in an immigration border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain – and accused DUP politicians such as Mr Wilson of repeating the mistakes of Brexit by supporting Nigel Farage’s policy of pulling the UK out of the ECHR. However, Mr Wilson says there is an incentive for both sides to avoid this and as a unionist he “would be totally opposed to the introduction of travel restrictions from NI to GB”.