NI Protocol: Confusion over what government will do next

Speculation had been building over recent days that the government intends to act on unionists’ concerns around the post-Brexit trading arrangements through legislation to be announced in the Queen’s speech on Tuesday.

But in a blow to unionist hopes that the protocol could be scrapped, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis appeared to suggest otherwise in a late-night TV appearance on the eve of yesterday’s Assembly elections.

Appearing on ITV’s ‘Peston’ political talk show on Wednesday, Mr Lewis appeared to some viewers to suggest a move against the protocol is unlikely to feature in the Queen’s speech.

He later took to social media in an attempt to clarify the government’s position, suggesting the UK would not “shy away from taking further steps if necessary”.

The former Labour MP and prominent Brexit campaigner Baroness Kate Hoey, who has appeared at rallies opposing the protocol, suggested the best approach amid the confusion is now to “wait and see” what action the government takes in the coming days.

Speaking to the News Letter, she said: “We don’t know the detail. We will know next week. The Queen’s speech is Tuesday so we will know more then. It is confusing so let’s just wait and see what’s actually in it.”

She did, however, join in criticism of the Northern Ireland secretary’s decision to go ahead with the TV appearance on the eve of crucial Assembly elections.

“My only complaint is that Brandon Lewis shouldn’t be going on a late-night political programme just before polling day,” she said.

On the ITV programme, Mr Lewis said: “Our focus is on resolving the issues with the protocol, ideally we want to do that by agreement with the European Union. The challenge we’ve got at the moment …”

Pressed by host Robert Peston whether an announcement would come next week, he said: “No, Robert, we’ve not said that.

“What we’ve been clear about is at the moment, the protocol is causing problems in civic society, it’s causing problems with the Good Friday Agreement.

“Our duty to the people of Northern Ireland is to resolve those issues. Yes, we want to do that with the EU and that’s what Liz Truss [foreign secretary] has been focused on.”

Following the appearance, Mr Lewis took to social media website Twitter in an attempt to clarify the government’s position.

“We will do whatever it takes to protect the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement,” the secretary of state wrote.

“It is clear that the protocol does not have the support of the unionist community and is not working for people and businesses in Northern Ireland.”

He continued: “We have to address the outstanding issues and we want to do that by agreement with the EU, but as we have always made clear, we will not shy away from taking further steps if necessary.”

Meanwhile, a former DUP special advisor has urged Mr Lewis to clarify his comments.

Writing on Twitter, Richard Bullick – who was special advisor to the first minister between 2008 and 2017, before returning last year during Paul Givan’s recent spell in the Stormont office – said: “He [Brandon Lewis] needs to clarify what the position is if he does not want to be responsible for months without an Executive.”

Seeking to add some clarity himself, Mr Bullick also referred to an article in the Spectator magazine by its political editor James Forsyth, which the former DUP strategist suggested “would appear to bring more clarity to the issue than the somewhat misleading coverage of what Brandon Lewis said”.

In the article, the Spectator political editor reports that the government will “legislate to protect the Good Friday Agreement in its entirety” – something the Spectator suggests is a “coded threat to the European Union that the UK is prepared to unilaterally tear up parts of the Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland”.

Both the DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and the TUV leader Jim Allister have criticised the secretary of state’s comments on dealing with the protocol.