Rees-Mogg: Opponents of EU law bonfire want to re-fight Brexit battle

The claim was made by DUP MP Sammy Wilson after former Conservative Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill would be “removing the supremacy of EU law”.

The new legislation allows nearly all remaining retained European Union law to be either repealed or absorbed into UK domestic law by December 31, 2023.

In the Commons chamber on Tuesday, Mr Wilson said the bill highlights that “Parliament is not sovereign right across the United Kingdom” because “some of this cannot apply to Northern Ireland, where EU law past and future will still apply”.

Mr Wilson asked Mr Rees-Mogg if he accepted that this piece of legislation “could actually drive a greater wedge between Northern Ireland constitutionally and the rest of the United Kingdom?”

The Conservative former cabinet minister replied: “I’m certainly concerned about that and in the last couple of days, I had to sign off on a couple of explanatory memorandums covering all that was going to come into Northern Ireland from the European Union.

“I think this is an unsatisfactory constitutional situation, it’s why I’m so supportive of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which is in the Other Place (House of Lords) today,”

Mr Rees-Mogg added: “That is something we must push forward with to ensure that we have a unified legal system across the whole of the United Kingdom.”