Government approvingly cites role of Poots’ officials in sea border work

In evidence to the Commons’ Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Brandon Lewis obliquely referred to the U-turn by the DUP minister who last week stopped his officials from working on the issue, but then relented after saying that Whitehall department DEFRA had clarified that it would pay for the border infrastructure.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell raised the issue with Mr Lewis, saying: “My colleague Edwin Poots is in a difficult position where he’s been caught between two difficult positions – what work does he do at, for example, the Port of Larne, what work should he have done, what work can he do now in the absence of certainty in preparation January 1?

“Can you give any definitive and positive advice about what he should be doing in the next ten weeks?”

Mr Lewis said he believed “that issue has been resolved” and that DEFRA “has been working with Minister Poots...so that they are now clear on the work that they need to do”.

He referred to it as “a very good example...of the government continuing to demonstrate that we are delivering on our commitments in [the Brexit deal]”.

NIO official Colin Perry said that there had been “active and ongoing engagement” between DEFRA and Mr Poots’ department to deliver border processes “which are as light touch as possible” but consistent with the Brexit deal.

Mr Lewis insisted that the new border would not impede trade between Northern Ireland and GB but that “in terms of Great Britain to Northern Ireland, we’ve always said that there will be limited checks”.

As revealed by the News Letter yesterday, Mr Poots’ most senior civil servant sent him a memo last Friday in which he made clear that he would be pressing ahead with procurement for the new border infrastructure.

The memo did not ask Mr Poots for his authorisation – meaning that the DUP minister could deny he had approved the decision – but he implicitly did approve of what was happening because he chose not to use his power to order the civil servant to stop.

UUP leader Steve Aiken said that there was “absolute confusion at the heart of the DUP” over implementing the internal UK border. He added: “The DUP`s fingerprints are all over this debacle and Edwin`s attempt to remove them has failed abysmally”.

TUV leader Jim Allister said it was “deeply disappointing” to see Mr Poots “buckle”.

He went on: “This was never about the finance to put the infrastructure in place. Surely not everything boils down to money as far as the DUP are concerned? Opposition to a border which divides our nation should always be a matter of principle for any unionist.”

After less than a week defying PM, DUP minister U-turns to allow officials to work on Irish Sea border checks

DUP minister Edwin Poots halted work on Irish Sea border posts after party meeting

Sam McBride: The DUP and Brexit – from backing Leave on a whim to Arlene Foster’s ‘blood red line’, and now her surrender

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