Unionist disappointment as Boris Johnson’s controversial Internal Market Bill does not undo Irish Sea border

The Internal Market Bill has caused consternation not just among opponents of Brexit but among many lawyers, some judges and even some senior Conservatives because aspects of it explicitly override other law.

The 49-page bill seeks to protect the UK’s internal market, something necessary not only because of the coming Irish Sea border but because the devolved legislatures would not be bound by much of the EU legislation which has until now allowed for free trade within the UK even under devolution.

The bill contradicts parts of the deal which Boris Johnson struck with the EU last year and some of the bill’s most significant elements involve giving powers to the government to quickly implement secondary legislation – with no clarity on whether the government would do so.

However, the bill does not do what unionists like Sammy Wilson wanted – ending the possibility of a new trade border in the Irish Sea.

Mr Wilson, the DUP’s chief whip at Westminster, responded cautiously to the bill, saying that it was “a step forward for Northern Ireland but serious issues still need to be addressed”.

Last night Northern Ireland’s Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, spoke out to express alarm at the Secretary of State’s statement that the government would knowingly and deliberately break international law.

In a highly unusual intervention, Northern Ireland’s most senior judicial figure told BBC programme The View that Mr Lewis’s comments concerned him because “it seems to me that it enables others to take the view that they can choose which laws apply to them”.

He said that while the issue related to international law and therefore would not come before him, “it seems to me that it may have a domestic effect on the confidence that the public may have in the legal system generally”.

Sir Declan added: “I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t make my disappointment and the reasons for it public”.

Yesterday Boris Johnson insisted that everyone should obey the law before defending his government’s plans to breach international law.

The Prime Minister was challenged in the Commons to explain why he believed it to be acceptable for his administration to not obey the law while expecting people to follow new Covid-19 restrictions on social gatherings.

Mr Johnson said that what he was doing helped protect the UK against “extreme or irrational interpretations” of the Northern Ireland protocol and they were aimed at protecting the peace process if a free trade deal was not agreed with the EU.

Despite the government arguing that the bill would see more powers going to the devolved regions, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon denounced it as an “abomination” that will break devolution.

Richard Bullick, the former key strategic adviser to Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster, said that “unionists who didn’t like the Northern Ireland protocol before this bill (and that’s pretty much all) are not going to like it much more now”.

He said that “in real terms it’s not clear that it does much more than deal with exit declarations” and he did not think that the provisions around State Aid were aimed at Northern Ireland.

UUP leader Steve Aiken said that the bill “doesn’t provide much comfort” and said the fact that Westminster was even discussing how to ensure GB and Northern Ireland could continue to trade fairly “highlights the political naivety and stupidity of signing up to the appalling Withdrawal Agreement in the first place”.

The bill states that “special regard” must be given to Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market and that there should be no new checks on goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

It gives ministers the power to modify or “disapply” rules that come into force from the start of next year if the UK and the EU are unable to come to alternative arrangements through a trade deal.

Similar powers would apply over the issue of state aid, effectively giving the UK the ability to override obligations within the Withdrawal Agreement agreed prior to Brexit.

Former Labour Secretary of State Lord Hain said that the idea of openly and deliberately breaking international law was “certainly what you’d expect of a rogue state and what you’d expect of a banana republic”.

He told Talkback: “Why would any other country sign a trade deal with us..if we’re saying we’ll pick and choose what international agreements we’ll support, having signed them? This is very serious.”

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major yesterday warned against what Boris Johnson is doing.

Sir John became the latest senior Conservative to denounce Mr Johnson’s decision to go back on assurances he had made in an internationally binding treaty.

He said: “For generations, Britain’s word – solemnly given – has been accepted by friend and foe. Our signature on any treaty or agreement has been sacrosanct.

“Over the last century, as our military strength has dwindled, our word has retained its power. If we lose our reputation for honouring the promises we make, we will have lost something beyond price that may never be regained.”

David Melding, the Conservative shadow counsel general in the Welsh parliament, resigned from that role yesterday afternoon, saying that the bill “has done nothing to lessen my anxieties about the dangers facing our 313-year-old Union. Indeed they have been gravely aggravated by the decisions made in the last few days by the Prime Minister”.

He said that he was dismayed at “what I consider to be a lack of statecraft at this crucial time for hte UK’s very survival as a multi-national state”.

Foster says she now will try to change PM’s deal

Five days after her interview with Sky News in which she said that she would implement the border in the Irish Sea, Arlene Foster has belatedly come out to say something different.

In the interview broadcast on Friday, Mrs Foster distanced herself from those continuing to fight against Boris Johnson’s deal, making clear that she accepted it was a “reality” which she would implement.

Since then, Mrs Foster has not addressed the issue but her party in an unsigned statement on Monday contradicted her stance, stating that it continued to attempt to overturn the deal.

However, in a press event yesterday – to which the News Letter, which has reported this story in more detail than any other outlet, was not invited – Mrs Foster set out a new position, putting herself on the side of those who do continue to fight against the Prime Minister’s plans.

The DUP leader said: “In an interview a couple of weeks ago, I said we would obey the law and as ministers it is our legal duty to make sure that we look to the law, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to change the law.

“I will be working with all my colleagues in the DUP to try and ensure we listen to the voices of businesses and we make sure that we represent that voice.

“It’s important that we have unfettered access and that we have a UK market that we can operate in without any discrimination and make sure our wonderful firms are able to continue to work.”

Asked about Secretary of State Brandon Lewis’s remark that the government would be breaking international law, Mrs Foster said: “Those are matters for the ministers in Whitehall and in Westminster...what we can’t have is less choice for consumers and an increase in price for consumers”.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill accused the Secretary of State of having a “brass neck” over his stance on the Internal Market Bill.

Ms O’Neill said his comments demonstrate that the “entire Tory Government do not care what happens to the people” in Northern Ireland.

She said: “They have demonstrated time and time again that they are quite happy to use us as a pawn in the middle of the Brexit debate. There was an international agreement painstakingly struck, and we got ourselves some protection in the form of the protocol and what Brandon Lewis openly said was, ‘but sure that doesn’t matter anymore, we are going to override that’.

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor