Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warns Stormont ‘will not survive’ unless Protocol is dealt with

In a keynote speech at the La Mon Hotel this morning, Sir Jeffrey was setting out four key steps for his party to take, starting with the immediate withdrawal from North-South bodies.

Secondly, he said that DUP ministers in Stormont would “seek to block additional checks at ports” and, if forced with the choice of implementing the protocol in its present form or leaving their posts, that ministers would withdraw from office instead.

Finally, Sir Jeffrey said that his party would also seek to “frustrate and prevent” Northern Ireland regulations adhering to EU law in the future “as it evolves”, and

Sir Jeffrey said: “The political, economic and constitutional difficulties created by the protocol threaten our prosperity in Northern Ireland and the quality of our status within the United Kingdom.

“Most fundamentally the constitutional guarantee which has underpinned political progress in Northern Ireland has been fundamentally undermined.

“The so-called consent principle has been reduced to the final transfer of sovereignty and provides no protection against any creeping erosion of Northern Ireland’s status as part of the United Kingdom.

“This was not the basis on which the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent agreements, were agreed, nor was it the basis on which it was sold to the people of Northern Ireland.

“Indeed even Lord Trimble, one of the key authors of the Agreement has recently written that, “the Northern Ireland Protocol has not only subverted the main safeguards within the Belfast Agreement causing civic unrest and political uncertainty, it is also damaging the Northern Ireland economy, disrupting supply chains, inflating prices and diverting trade from our main market in Great Britain.”

He continued: “I say not as a threat, but as a matter of political reality that our political institutions will not survive a failure to resolve the problems that the protocol has created.

“Neither will they survive an indefinite ‘stand still’ period; urgent action is needed.

“As someone who believes in devolution and who seeks to return to the Assembly, this is not something I want to see.

“While I welcome the announcement of further extensions to the grace periods, long term solutions are required and political stability secured.”

The DUP leader also suggested violence could return unless the issue is dealt with, saying: “Since the start of July, the streets have been quieter in terms of violence, but I fear that unless we grapple with this issue, this will prove to be merely a pause, rather than an end to the disorder.

“I want to thank those in my party and elsewhere who have helped work to calm the situation on the ground in recent times, but it would be an act of folly to believe that the anger has receded, or the danger has passed.”


CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL TEXT OF SIR JEFFREY’S SPEECH