Lord Frost says UK Government ‘will have the best interests of everybody in Northern Ireland, everybody in this country at heart’

“It does not require infrastructure or checks at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, it involves us accepting responsibility to police goods going into Ireland in the Irish Sea, and we think that is a reasonable compromise.

“But the other side of that compromise has got to be that goods move freely into Northern Ireland if they are staying in Northern Ireland, and that seems to us to be a reasonable balance, and consistent with Northern Ireland being part of the United Kingdom, part of the UK’s internal market, part of the UK’s customs territory, all of which is set out in the protocol,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.

Asked why the people of Northern Ireland should trust the UK Government to have their best interests at heart, Lord Frost said: “This Government always will have the best interests of everybody in Northern Ireland, everybody in this country at heart, and that’s what we’re trying to do with the proposals that we’ve put on the table for the protocol.

“It was a compromise in 2019 that was the right thing for this country as a whole, it needed careful handling and it hasn’t always had that, but we are trying to proceed in a way that everybody can buy into, everybody can give it support and everybody can move on and get on with their lives.

“We’re trying to find a stable solution for Northern Ireland as a whole with the maximum possible of buy-in across the whole political opinion in Northern Ireland, that’s our interest.

“Our interest is sustaining the union, sustaining the trade links, making sure that the protocol commitments that Northern Ireland is part of the customs territory of the UK’s market are a reality, and that’s what we’re working to try and achieve.”

And when queried about Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney’s assessment that there will be a deal before Christmas, Lord Frost said: “I would like to progress this as fast as we possibly can, I’m glad there’s ambition on the EU side … I think it can be done. Whether it will be done is a different question, it’s got to be a deal that deals with the problems, solves the underlying problems and makes a difference to businesses and people’s lives.”

Lord Frost said the UK has proposed an “ambitious compromise” in the talks with the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

“It does not require infrastructure or checks at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, it involves us accepting responsibility to police goods going into Ireland in the Irish Sea, and we think that is a reasonable compromise.

“But the other side of that compromise has got to be that goods move freely into Northern Ireland if they are staying in Northern Ireland, and that seems to us to be a reasonable balance, and consistent with Northern Ireland being part of the United Kingdom, part of the UK’s internal market, part of the UK’s customs territory, all of which is set out in the protocol,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.

Lord Frost acknowledged a “very stark division” of opinion on the protocol in Northern Ireland.

“I don’t think it’s true from the polls I’ve seen that there’s widespread support for the way the protocol is working,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.

“There is a division of opinion on the subject and I think one of the things we have learned in Northern Ireland is that it is very important, if you can, to try and proceed by consensus, with cross-community support with the maximum possible of buy-in to solutions and that appears not to be the situation with the protocol at the moment, and we would like to design, to negotiate, to agree something that everybody can get behind.

“We have said, we repeat, that there always have to be some sort of treaty arrangement between the UK and the EU covering Northern Ireland but it’s got to be an arrangement that everybody can get behind.”

In terms of Northern Ireland currently “having the best of both worlds” in terms of its position, Lord Frost said: “There isn’t the best of both worlds at the moment, because there isn’t free access to goods from Great Britain, and that’s the situation that has been established by the protocol.

“Of course there is a range of views amongst business and I absolutely acknowledge that and we talk to them, but I think in aggregate the trade links with Great Britain for Northern Ireland are about three times as big as those with Ireland and in the single market, so in aggregate those links with Great Britain are incredibly important and it is those that are being worn away by the way the protocol is working, and that’s why it is so important to deal with them,” he said.

Lord Frost also told BBC Radio Ulster that Northern Ireland’s place in the union is “strong”.

“This Government is not neutral on that question. I think there is no doubt that the trade diversion that has occurred and the way the protocol is working has worried people about the strength of the connections and that’s playing into the sense of economic and social concern that we pick up, and it’s our wish to resolve that as consensually and reasonably as we possibly can,” he said.

Lord Frost said there is a “gap” between the UK and EU positions.

“We are in a situation where the EU have made some proposals, at the moment without going into detail, I’m not sure they would solve these problems of checks and processes for goods moving into Northern Ireland, but we keep talking and we’re seeing if we can move this forward in a way that does produce consensus,” he said.

Challenged on triggering Article 16, Lord Frost responded: “I think Article 16 is a legitimate option within the treaty. Article 16 is an article in the protocol, it’s a safeguard mechanism and it’s use is perfectly legitimate, that’s why it is there in the protocol and that’s why it is an option in this process.

“I think the problem is that we’re in a negotiation about a very significant real world problem, and I hear a lot of concerns from business about that real world problem which is about moving goods and so on.

“I think it’s everyone’s preference, it’s certainly our preference to try to resolve it without using Article 16, but if we can’t resolve it in the negotiations, Article 16 is a perfectly legitimate option to solve these problems. That’s why it has to be on the table.

“It’s obviously a matter for the European Union if they were to choose to retaliate against any use of Article 16, which I repeat is perfectly legitimate.

“I don’t think it helps if they chose to (retaliate). If we use Article 16, it’s about making trade flow more freely within the United Kingdom, and I don’t see why it would help for the response to that from the European Union to be sanctions, retaliation and making trade more difficult. I don’t understand why that would help the situation here, and I hope everybody can stand back from that.”

Lord Frost declined to talk about the “detailed negotiating position” in the talks with the EU.

“I think it’s true that in a negotiation there is always a bit of give and take, but what we are looking for is a solution that solves the difficulties that have arisen and that means being ambitious,” he said.

“We have tried to be ambitious in our command paper, it means reaching solutions that enable us to move on with a durable solution and move on to the problems that affect everyone’s lives.

“There are many issues obviously in the command paper, but this question of how goods move from Great Britain into Northern Ireland is obviously at the heart of it. We have said that we don’t see any reason why goods that everyone acknowledges are going to stay in Northern Ireland need to go through processes.

“Obviously if they go on into Ireland we have said that we will police them in accordance with EU law, that’s perfectly reasonable, but goods staying in Northern Ireland – why do they need to go through a customs check?”

UK Brexit Minister Lord Frost has said that triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol is a “very real option”.

Lord Frost is in Northern Ireland for meetings with the region’s political parties and businesses.

He said he would “very much hope” to bring the talks with the EU to a conclusion.

“That’s what we would most like to do. If we can’t, if there can’t be an agreement, then obviously the famous Article 16 is a very real option for us,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.