NI Protocol: LCC warns Maros Sefcovic of ‘people power overthrowing tyranny’

The comments from Loyalist Communities Chairman David Campbell come after Brussels warned it is ready to act “firmly and resolutely” to ensure the UK abides by its commitments in the NI Protocol.

Mr Campbell said: “Maros Sefcovic needs to wind his neck in and stop threatening the United Kingdom Government and the people of Northern Ireland.

“What will it take for him to finally get the message that Northern Ireland will not accept or tolerate a hard border between us and the rest of our own country?

“Sefcovic comes from a country [Slovakia] that thirty years ago witnessed people power overthrowing tyranny. If he wishes to see a repeat of the power that can be exercised by ordinary people who feel betrayed, isolated, and abused, then let him persist with this foolish imposition. He is the personification of all that is wrong with the European Union.”

The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989 happened as a result of the peaceful ‘Velvet Revolution’, and was followed by the country’s dissolution into two successor states.

Mr Campbell speaks on behalf of the LCC, a forum founded under the guidance of Tony Blair to aid the peace process. Although it is a lawful body, delegates on it represent proscribed terror groups - the UVF, UDA and RHC.

The vast majority of anti-NI Protocol demonstrations across NI so far have been peaceful, although a number of violent rallies at Easter left 100 police officers injured. Quite a few such rallies have seen many men parading in balaclavas.

Mr Campbell’s comments come the same day as business groups - under the banner of the Northern Ireland Business Brexit Working Group - appealed to the UK Government and the EU to bring an end to post-Brexit trading frictions.

UK Environment Secretary George Eustice today branded as “bonkers” a situation in which British-made sausages could not be sold in Northern Ireland amid continuing rows over post-Brexit border arrangements.

Mr Eustice said the EU had been “slow to engage” with efforts to iron out difficulties ahead of the ending of a grace period in the agreement between the UK and the bloc which allows Northern Irish shops to continue selling chilled meats – including sausages and mince.

But Brussels warned it is ready to act “firmly and resolutely” to ensure the UK abides by its commitments in the Northern Ireland Protocol and does not unilaterally grant an extension at the end of June.

Mr Eustice said on Tuesday he had “no idea” why the EU imposed “idiosyncratic” rules on the movement of chilled meats.

“I suspect it links to some kind of perception that they can’t really trust any country other than an EU country to make sausages,” he told LBC.

“I think that’s a nonsense. I think we’ve got a very good sausage industry in this country, we’ve got the highest standards of food hygiene in the world.”

And he insisted “there’s no problem with our sausages or indeed our chicken nuggets”.

The row centres on EU fears that goods from Northern Ireland may enter the single market.

Former French European minister and MEP Nathalie Loiseau told the Today programme: “We are warning (that) you signed an agreement, you have to implement it. Otherwise, there are measures that we can take legally that will protect our single market.”

And in an article for the Daily Telegraph, the European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said they would “not be shy” in taking action to ensure that the UK abides by its international commitments.

Britain has already angered Brussels by unilaterally extending grace periods in the Protocol on supermarket goods and parcels.

Ahead of talks on Wednesday with the Brexit minister Lord Frost to discuss the implementation of the Protocol, Mr Sefcovic said the commission would not tolerate further failures of compliance by London.

“Unfortunately, we see numerous and fundamental gaps in the UK’s implementation – even though the Protocol entered into force over 17 months ago,” he said.

But Mr Eustice said: “There are lots of ways to give the European Union the assurance that they say they want for their single market, and what we should be doing is working together to identify ways forward.

“And that’s where the European Union have been quite slow to date to engage.”

The row comes amid reports that US president Joe Biden will use this week’s G7 summit to impress upon Boris Johnson the importance that he attaches to maintaining the Protocol.

Ahead of the gathering in Cornwall, Mr Johnson also discussed the issue in a telephone call on Monday with French president Emmanuel Macron.

Asked what he expected Mr Biden would think of the situation, Mr Eustice told the Today programme: “I suspect that any US administration would be amazed if you were to say, for instance, that a sausage from Texas couldn’t be sold to California, there would be an outright ban – they really wouldn’t understand how that could even be contemplated.”

Downing Street said that the Prime Minister stressed that “both the UK and the EU have a responsibility to find solutions to address the issues with the Protocol”.

These are the 93 applications to the Parades Commission to march on July 12, 2021

Coronavirus NI - Pupils and staff at NI school to be tested for Covid-19 after suspected outbreak of Delta variant

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor