Identity nothing to do with protocol: O’Neill

The Sinn Fein vice president said the two were “distinctly different things”.

Speaking to Sky on ‘Trevor Phillips on Sunday’, Ms O’Neill also accused the British government of putting the Brexit agreement “in jeopardy”.

“I think unfortunately for the unionist people, for that wider civic society, the unionist leaders have actually conflated the issue of the protocol and Brexit, a mess which they single-handedly delivered alongside their friends in the Tories,” Ms O’Neill said.

“But they have conflated that issue of identity with the issue of trade, which comes about as a direct result of Brexit.

“There are two distinctly different things.”

Ms O’Neill said Brexit was “foisted” on the people in Northern Ireland.

“There was never cross-community support for Brexit,” Ms O’Neill added.

“The majority of people here, the majority of political parties on a cross-community basis, voted to reject Brexit. Yet it was foisted upon us.

“This Tory government, and Boris Johnson, has shown at every turn that they do not care less for the people who live here.

“It is, in fact, the British government that negotiated the protocol. It is, in fact, them who signed up to an international treaty, which they have been putting in jeopardy ever since the ink was barely dry on the agreement itself.

“So, we are not in an ideal situation. However, the protocol does give us the best protection and does afford us a lot of opportunity.”