Sammy Wilson dismisses claim he 'has become a Protocol advocate' after post about EU access
Sammy Wilson has rubbished a claim that he was advocating for the Protocol with a recent post about access to the EU economy.
The former economy minister told the News Letter that he was merely recounting the contents of a conversation he had with a trade envoy, and that he stands by his position of wanting to see the Protocol junked.
The episode began when Mr Wilson posted on Twitter: “I met with the Indian High Commissioner to the UK this week. Many Indian companies are now considering NI as a base to access the EU market.
"We discussed the range of businesses from food processing and packaging to plastics who see potential in NI. The Department for the Economy and Invest NI must follow up.”
SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole wrote in reply: “Sammy Wilson, Protocol advocate. You love to see it.”
And Alliance deputy leader Eoin Tennyson MLA wrote: “Incredible what dual market access can do...”
Many other users made similar points about the DUP now apparently backing the Protocol.
In response, Mr Wilson said: “I don’t know how Matthew O’Toole reaches the conclusion he does: that I’ve now become a Protocol promoter.
"I was simply stating the conversation I had with the Indian High Commissioner – that they had businesses looking to invest in NI because they hoped that having the access to the EU market would enable them to be able to sell goods they currently are producing in the rest of the UK.
"That’s his view, that’s the view of the firms, that’s what they’re seeking to explore.”
He said that, to date, there has been no evidence of such investment actually materialising in Northern Ireland because of the Protocol.
"If it does come to fruition then of course we’ll welcome it,” he said.
“But we believe that it’d have been far less damaging to Northern Ireland not to have the Protocol or Windsor Framework.
"Day by day firms that are manufacturing in Northern Ireland and aren’t selling in the EU are hitting cash flow problems, hitting problems with bureaucracy, and hitting problems with persuading firms in England to sell goods to them.
"I’m promoting Northern Ireland. I’m encouraging firms which have shown an interest in Northern Ireland to continue showing that interest and pursue it.
"It’s my duty as an MP to promote Northern Ireland and I always do, and here’s one example of where firms have expressed an interest; I was hardly going to discourage them from doing it.”
Northern Ireland currently has full unfettered access to the European Union’s single market, but there are barriers to trade with the rest of the UK.
Mr Wilson has spoken out many times against the Irish Sea border, and has also addressed loyalist anger at the perceived weakening of the party’s position on the issue.
In 2021 for instance, when his Larne office was graffitied with the word “traitors” (apparently in reference to its stance on the Protocol), Mr Wilson called for the person who wrote the message on his office to “take a proper interest an actually find out where people stand on these issues”.
“I think the last person in the world who they could describe as a traitor on this issue is me,” Mr Wilson said.
“And the last party in the world who should be called this is the DUP.
“They are either ignorant or they are being malicious.
“Our record and my record in particular is for angering the Remainers more than any other MP in NI because of my stance on Brexit and on the Protocol.”
The same year graffiti reading “DUP out” appeared across Carrickfergus, and it was put to him at the time that some anger over the NI Protocol was being focussed on the DUP.
Mr Wilson said: “And when you speak to them, they can’t explain why. What is it the DUP did that has made them angry? How’ve the DUP been responsible for any of this? When you actually speak to them, they can’t give you an answer to that.”