Humble Address to King dominated by debate on DUP deal, EU law and ongoing sea border checks

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson attacked his unionist critics accusing them of pumping out “nonsense” about the Acts of Union – as his colleague Mr Wilson said there has been no attempt by the government to undo damage caused by the Northern Ireland protocol.

In a sparsely attended House of Commons on Monday, MPs debated the symbolic message – part of the DUP’s Safeguarding the Union deal with the government.

The motion was tabled as a Humble Address, a mechanism by which Parliament communicates messages to the King. It welcomed the return of the devolution and re-affirmed the importance of upholding the Belfast Agreement. It also acknowledged the “foundational importance” of the Acts of Union.

The debate within unionism was evident as Sir Jeffrey Donaldson spoke to the chamber. He said in the DUP’s seven tests “we talked about fulfilling the Acts of Union while others – who hadn’t bothered to read the original Acts of Union. Who didn’t know what they are talking about.

"Who seek to rewrite history. Who declare themselves as the champions of unionism but don’t know their facts – talked about restoring something that would mean customs checks on goods moving between NI and GB. Would mean tariffs on goods manufactured in NI being sold in GB.

"This is the kind of nonsense that our detractors daily pump out. They should check their facts, know their history and understand what they’re talking about”.

However, Sammy Wilson later rejected this argument – saying that the difference is they were impediments that were decided within the UK, but would now be decided by the EU.

Mr Wilson said that the Safeguarding the Union deal hadn’t removed EU control – and said “it is just not true” that the foundational importance of the Acts of Union is respected by the government.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the motion was a “reaffirmation” of Northern Ireland’s place in the Union by both the government and the opposition. He accused opponents of living in the 1970s – arguing that if the union was to be secured it needed to appeal to young people.

A number of DUP MPs highlighted ongoing issues with checks on the Irish Sea border.

Ian Paisley commended Sir Jeffrey’s work – and asked the government to set out a timetable for the promises made in the deal including on veterinary medicines, plants, InterTrade UK, and checks. The DUP MP also said he had several examples of sea border checks disrupting businesses – including one business who had checks increased recently. Mr Paisley said he would bring seeds in his hand luggage to a constituent who couldn’t order them for her business because of the current arrangements.

Carla Lockhart welcomed the work by her party on the deal but said there remains much work to be done. She raised problems with animal and plant movements – and agreed with the wording of the motion that the Acts of Union were of foundational importance.

She said that the arrangements didn’t remove the EU customs code – and that 1.9m UK citizens had been disenfranchised. The Upper Bann MP said Article Six of the Act of Union needs to be fully restored.

However, Jim Shannon highlighted businesses where paperwork had been removed – and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he had been contacted by a very prominent nursery whose supply chains had improved already, even before the new arrangements had been fully implemented.

The motion was brought by the NIO minister Steve Baker, who began his remarks by saying the whole nation is “astonished at the brilliance” of how the first and deputy first minister are working together.

Labour shadow secretary of state Hilary Benn ‘warmly’ welcomed the motion – and congratulated Sir Jeffrey Donaldson for his leadership in restoring the Stormont institutions. He also said that Northern Ireland should never again find itself without a government.

However, he raised a section of the command paper on the all-island economy which he described as “genuinely puzzling”. The legislation requires ministers to have ‘due regard’ to the all Ireland economy.

The issue was also raised by Alliance MP Stephen Farry, who also described the Safeguarding the Union deal as “a glorified press release” saying it had no legal effect.

The motion was passed.

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