Northern Ireland Protocol latest: If Liz Truss beats Rishi Sunak to Number 10 then she could trigger Article 16 ‘within days’ of taking office

The Financial Times (FT) ran the story this morning, giving their source as “several government insiders”.

However the details of the report are unlikely to assuage unionist politicians who have been clamouring for decisive action on the Protocol ever since it kicked in on January 1, 2021.

According to the FT report, Truss’s campaign say that her preference was for “a negotiated solution” but acknowledged “there are serious problems with the Northern Ireland protocol which need fixing”.

It said: “Allies of Truss insist she was not ‘pushing’ to trigger Article 16 but that it remained an option on the table if she became Prime Minister.

“One official close to the foreign secretary said: Some government officials have raised concerns about issues coming down the track and have presented many options to ministers to deal with them’.”

Activating Article 16 could happen “within days” of her taking office, the FT report said.

Questions have been asked repeatedly about where Truss and Sunak stand on the Protocol, and whether either of them will actually do anything about it.

Writing in the News Letter at the start of the month, ex-NI Secretary Brandon Lewis said: “As Northern Ireland secretary I worked with Liz to develop the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill to resolve the outstanding issues with its implementation and operation.

“Liz has made it her priority to defend peace and stability in Northern Ireland, taking a tough line on the protocol and standing up to the EU in the process.

“That is no mean feat, and she faced internal as well as external pressure to buckle in the face of the EU’s unreasonable and unrealistic demands, to the detriment of our Union, but she stood firm.”

Ms Truss wrote an article for the News Letter on August 17, in which she cited her role in creating the NI Protocol Bill – but, crucially, gave no assurance that she would see the bill through if she was Prime Minister, and fend off attempts to water it down.

When The News Letter asked directly if she would guarantee its full delivery, Ms Truss declined to add that to the article.

The Protocol Bill, much like Article 16 of the Protocol, has often been cited by the Tories as a potential get-out-clause, which could nullify or blunt the worst effects of the Protocol.

But despite much talk of doing so, we are now 20 months into the operation of the Protocol and the government has not triggered Article 16.

In addition, a number of unionists have warned that Ms Truss’ Protocol Bill (now sitting with the House of Lords, with no date yet set for its next reading) will do nothing by itself – see Sir Reg Empey’s recent breakdown of its shortcomings, for example:

• Brexit: There’s a fundamental con trick being played over Liz Truss’ Northern Ireland Protocol Bill says Lord Empey