Northern Ireland Protocol: TUV leader Jim Allister warns against ‘meaningless change which does not restore full UK sovereignty over Northern Ireland"

Speaking on Saturday night in Markethill at the Newry & Armagh TUV annual dinner, Mr Allister warned, in the context of the ongoing talks with the EU, against unionism settling for anything less than "the restoration of full UK sovereignty over Northern Ireland".He said: “However it is packaged, however it is spun, the litmus test of any ‘deal’ with Brussels lies in the answer to these questions:"Is Northern Ireland still subject to foreign EU laws, rather than British laws, when it comes to trade and the manufacturing and processing of goods. In other words, are we still subject to EU single market, customs union and vat laws?"Is GB still, in trade terms, regarded as a ‘third’ or foreign country?"Are there still checks on goods coming from GB to NI, in other words, is there still an Irish Sea border?"In legalistic terms, in particular, are Articles 5 - 10 of the Protocol and Annex II gone, never to return under any other guise?“These are the steps necessary to the restoration of U.K. sovereignty and escape from colonisation by the EU."He claimed that current talks cannout produce this outcome because the EU negotiating mandate "only permits tinkering with" the Protocol.

The party statement follows media reports that some in government want to move towards a Swiss-style deal. Switzerland can trade easily with the EU but must follow some EU rules. However the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today ruled out such a deal.