Legal bill for Stormont after Edwin Poots unlawful decision to halt Irish Sea border checks, judge rules

Mr Justice Colton ordered the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to pay the costs of all those who successfully took legal action against the ex-DUP Minister.

He said: The respondent is an experienced Minister, with experience in defending judicial review actions.

“He was in a position to make a considered and informed assessment of the costs which were involved in defending these applications.

“Such decisions are the norm for Government Departments and Ministers.”

Last month the judge quashed the instruction Mr Poots issued to DAERA staff after declaring that it was politically motivated, unlawful and in breach of a legal obligation to implement inspections on goods entering Northern Ireland’s ports.

The step taken in February 2022 came amid the DUP’s opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol – a regime put in place to avoid a hard border with the Irish Republic.

Mr Poots, Agriculture Minister at the time, said he had received legal advice that he could direct a halt in the absence of approval for the inspections from the wider Stormont Executive.

But Mr Justice Colton found consent from ministerial colleagues in the power-sharing cabinet was not required.

He said: “It is difficult to draw conclusion other than the decision under challenge was an overtly political one, taken for political reasons, and as part of a political campaign directed in opposition to the Protocol.”

Despite Mr Poots’ instruction, border checks on agri-food products entering Northern Ireland have continued pending the outcome of the judicial review proceedings.

Legal action was taken by a Sinn Fein member granted anonymity, another applicant named Edward Rooney, and Belfast City Council.

They argued that implementation of the checks had been allocated to Mr Poots’ Department, and that his subsequent decision was so significant and controversial that it required Executive consent.

The court heard that the European Union (Withdrawal) Act and the Protocol imposed an obligation in domestic law to apply regulations in Northern Ireland separately from Britain.

Counsel for Mr Poots contended that checks are not legally required because of the region’s defined territorial standing within the UK.

The barrister claimed post-Brexit regulations governing import controls place no obligation on the Minister’s officials to carry out inspections.

However, Mr Justice Colton held that by issuing the instruction Mr Poots was in breach of his legal obligations, rendering it unlawful and of no effect.

Dealing with the legal bill for the case, the judge found no reason to depart from the usual rule that the losing side is liable.

In a ruling published tonight, he confirmed: The court therefore directs that the respondent pays each of the applicant’s costs with those costs to be taxed in default of agreement.”