Steve Aiken: Every single line of this Brexit deal must now be scrutinised

The comments from the secretary of state, Julian Smith, at the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee yesterday demonstrate that confusion is the order of the day in the Johnson government in their haste to deliver Brexit at any cost, including jettisoning Northern Ireland into the orbit of the European Union if necessary.
By Steve Aiken
Published 24th Oct 2019, 14:00 BST
Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith appearing before the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons, London on Wednesday, with, left, Sir Jonathan Stephens, permanent secretary of the NIO. Photo: PA WireNorthern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith appearing before the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons, London on Wednesday, with, left, Sir Jonathan Stephens, permanent secretary of the NIO. Photo: PA Wire
Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith appearing before the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons, London on Wednesday, with, left, Sir Jonathan Stephens, permanent secretary of the NIO. Photo: PA Wire

Even a cursory glance at NISRA’s statistics, or even the NI Civil Service’s own commissioned impact study, would highlight the absolute folly of Mr Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

On one hand the Interim Chief Executive of HMRC, Jim Harra, told the Treasury Committee on Tuesday that it was ‘impossible to be definitive’ because everything had to be agreed with the EU; then later the same day we heard the Prime Minister refer to ‘light touch measures’ in the House of Commons; and then yesterday we had the Secretary of State saying that the Government would put ‘protective clauses’ in the legislation.

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The secretary of state is no doubt a man of good intentions, but how can you put ‘protective clauses’ in legislation if you don’t know what the processes are in the first place and the head of HMRC is making very clear that anything they do will have to be agreed by the EU at the outset?

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

At this stage of the process, it’s simply not credible to believe that the economic and constitutional damage that will be done to Northern Ireland’s place within the Union by the prime minister’s deal will be undone by what is being proposed.

It emphasises the need for thorough scrutiny of every single line and paragraph of the prime minister’s deal, providing opportunity for amendment by those who do have Northern Ireland’s best interests at heart.

Steve Aiken MLA, Ulster Unionist Party Chief Whip

Related topics:European UnionNorthern IrelandSteve AikenBrexit