Poots on red and green lane plans: We will not accept dilution of our place in UK

This would direct lorries, coming ashore from Great Britain, down one of the two lanes: a green one if they are bearing cargo bound for Northern Ireland, and a red one if their cargo is destined for the Republic.

It is part of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023, which have now been published by Parliament.

Specifically, this says: “This instrument enables the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that enhancements to existing facilities can be executed…

“It was agreed in 2020, by the Northern Ireland Executive, that the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (‘DAERA’) would build the facilities to deliver SPS checks required by the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (‘the Protocol’).

"The necessary construction has not taken place to date owing to wider concerns about the Protocol’s implementation.

"To address the social, political and economic difficulties that the Protocol has caused, the UK Government is putting in place revised arrangements for the operation of the Protocol.

"This involves preparing to be able to deliver red and green lane arrangements for the movement of sanitary and phytosanitary goods.”

Asked about this latest mooted development, Mr Poots – who was farming minister in 2020 to 2022 – said: “The fundamentals are: does it meet the DUP's seven tests?

"We're part of a sovereign United Kingdom, and it'll be against those things that measure and test.

"Diminution [of] our role as part of the UK won't be acceptable. We haven't got the full detail of anything to assess it. But it will be measured against the seven tests set out in July 2021.”

(The seven tests are set out below.)

– ‘IT IS AN UTTER LIE TO SAY I OKAYED POSTS’ –

There has been criticism of Mr Poots’ handling of the Protocol while he was farming minister, with claims that, since the construction of some checks infrastructure at NI ports began under his watch as minister, he must shoulder a degree of responsibility for the Irish Sea border’s existence.

"Certainly not,” he replied.

"Just for full clarity on that, the direction on that came from London, from George Eustice, that the posts needed to go up.

"The direction was made to the senior SRO [senior responsible owner – a civil service term for the official in charge] who took the decision to erect them.

"So at no point did I give any authorisation to erect them and in fact, when I sought to stop the checks happening [it] was taken to court and ruled against by Justice Colton – which I think is a wrong ruling.

"It wasn't a written ministerial direction, but Eustice wrote to the SRO and said this needed to be done.

"The SRO had been previously authorised or been appointed by the Executive Committee.

"It's an utter lie to say that I'd have had role in having these erected.”

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– WHAT ARE THE DUP’S SEVEN TESTS? –

1 – Firstly, new arrangements must fulfil the guarantee of the Sixth Article of the Act of Union 1800. This essentially requires that everyone in the United Kingdom is entitled to the same privileges, and be on the same footing as to goods in either country.

2 – Secondly, any new arrangements must avoid any diversion of trade.

3 – Thirdly it is essential that any new arrangements that are negotiated do not constitute a border in the Irish Sea.

4 – Fourthly new arrangements must give the people of Northern Ireland a say in the making of the laws which govern them.

This guarantee is implicit in Article 3 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights where it is stated: “The High Contracting Parties undertake to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature.”

The fact that a vast range of Single Market laws detailed in Annex 2 of the protocol apply in Northern Ireland without any democratic control is a clear breach of that promise and it must be rectified.

5 – Fifthly, new arrangements must result in “no checks on goods going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain or from Great Britain to Northern Ireland”.

These are the words of the Prime Minister on the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme on 8 December 2019.

We do of course accept that checks that were in place before Brexit should continue and goods that are proceeding on from Great Britain, through Northern Ireland, to the EU may have different arrangements.

6 – Sixthly, new arrangements should ensure no new regulatory barriers develop between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom unless agreed by the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly.

This commitment was made in paragraph 50 of the Joint Report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government in December 2017, and we expect it to be honoured.

7 – Seventhly, new arrangements must preserve the letter and spirit of Northern Ireland’s constitutional guarantee set out most recently in the Belfast Agreement by requiring in advance the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland for any diminution in its status as part of the United Kingdom.

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