Editorial: Illegal immigration is a serious problem for whole of UK and so Windsor Framework risks cannot be ignored

As immigration dominates the national political debate – and calls grow to quit the ECHR – the risk of the Windsor Framework exacerbating the problem cannot be overlooked.

While it was ostensibly a deal about managing trade – in fact the last government in its Safeguarding the Union deal with the DUP said it was “only” about trade – it also keeps EU equality directives applicable here.

Long before the current discussion about the UK quitting the European Convention on Human Rights, unionist politicians were raising concerns about its potential to create a “people border” between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

That fear was prompted by court rulings that the last government’s immigration policy was not applicable in Northern Ireland because of Article 2 of the Framework. In other words, EU rights trump domestic UK law when the two clash.

In today’s News Letter, the DUP MP Sammy Wilson has taken aim at the Tories for their attempts to distance themselves from a range of policies they implemented during their 14 years in power.

Having pointed out the risks to a coherent UK immigration policy posed by the Windsor Framework – introduced by a Tory government – he says they cannot have a serious policy on the ECHR without disavowing the Protocol.

​The Belfast courts' expansive interpretation of Article Two of the framework is implicated in many of these problems.

The government has appealed some of the court rulings – and a hearing is scheduled for next month. If that fails a future government must at the very least amend that article.

Illegal immigration is a serious problem for the entire country – and one that cannot be dealt with unless the government can be sure it can legislate for the entire nation.