Northern Ireland Protocol: DUP must not follow ERG’s line says veteran UUP MEP Jim Nicholson
Longstanding UUP figure Jim Nicholson has said that the DUP should not be tempted to follow the line of the European Research Group when it comes to the Protocol.
It is a rare intervention from Mr Nicholson, who has been little-heard-from since standing down from front-line politics at the end of his 30-year term as an MEP in 2019.
The ERG is a group of Tory MPs who tend to be seen as harder-line than the bulk of the party on the Protocol, and on Brexit generally.
“As we approach the end game in the negotiations between the UK and EU on trying to find a solution to the Protocol, the priority must be to achieve the best possible outcome for Northern Ireland, its people business and its future within the United Kingdom.
“Since Brexit negotiations began, Northern Ireland has been used by both London and Brussels as a pawn in the middle to wrench more out of the other. Mistake after mistake has been made and no more can be afforded.
"The DUP must now prioritise Northern Ireland, not what the ERG wants or prefers as they cannot be trusted to do what is best for Northern Ireland.”