Brexit Party leader, Nigel Farage, has signed an online petition launched by DUP leader, Arlene Foster, to exert pressure on Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The petition was launched on Thursday morning and at the time of publishing it had gathered just over 35,000 signatures.

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If 100,000 people sign the petition between now and August 4, 2021 it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons.

Mr. Farage and other former Brexit Party MEPs have all signed the petition.

“It seems that Northern Ireland is being increasingly cut off from the rest of the UK in terms of trade,” tweeted Mr. Farage.

“I am signing this petition to put pressure on the government to do something and urge Brexiteers and those that believe in the UK to do the same,” he added.

The DUP set out a five point plan at the beginning of the week for how it intends to undermine the Northern Ireland Protocol.

placeholder image — Brexit/Reform Party leader, Nigel Farage.

The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated and designed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Withdrawal Agreement was the framework that allowed the United Kingdom to exit the European Union on January 31, 2020.

A transition period ran from January 31, 2020 to December 31, 2020 when the UK left the EU with a free trade agreement.

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, described the Withdrawal Agreement in the run-up to the December 2019 general election as “oven-ready” and as a “good deal” for the UK as a whole.

As a direct result of the deal agreed by Boris Johnson and voted through the House of Commons by the Conservatives, Northern Ireland remains inside the EU single market which means, unlike England, Scotland and Wales, Northern Ireland must adhere to a wide array of EU rules and regulations.

It’s because of this divergence that many unionists have expressed zero tolerance for the Northern Ireland Protocol and have called for it to be completely scrapped.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, heads up the UK-EU Joint Committee with vice-president of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič.

Mr. Gove and vice-president Šefčovič are due to meet next week to determine what changes, if any, can be made to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

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