Northern Ireland Protocol: DUP and UUP slam government setting aside £600k to celebrate Good Friday Agreement while Protocol continues to 'trash' it

By Philip Bradfield

Published 21st Feb 2023, 17:24 BST

Updated 22nd Feb 2023, 17:36 BST

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DUP and UUP representatives have called out the Northern Ireland Office for setting aside almost £600,000 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement while they say the NI Protocol still ‘trashes’ it.

Former Stormont Minister Dermot Nesbitt, who helped negotiate the 1998 agreement on behalf of the UUP, was speaking after Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart discovered that the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) was setting aside £575,671 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the deal on 10 April.

The figure was released to her by Minister of State Steve Baker MP, but Ms Lockhart said she was not surprised she had to persist in getting the information from the government, due to the "staggering" amount.

"Such an excessive sum is hard to justify in a climate where the Government is continuing to threaten severe budget cuts in Northern Ireland," she said.

Unionist and national powersharing: UUP leader David Trimble and SDLP leader John Hume shake hands during a concert by U2 and Ash at the Waterfront to celebrate promote the referendum backing for the Good Friday Agreement in May 1998. However today the DUP and a UUP negotiator of the deal say that the government budget of £600,000 to celebrate the 25th annievrsary of the agreement is misplaced while the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to "trash" the 1998 agreement.

Unionist and national powersharing: UUP leader David Trimble and SDLP leader John Hume shake hands during a concert by U2 and Ash at the Waterfront to celebrate promote the referendum backing for the Good Friday Agreement in May 1998. However today the DUP and a UUP negotiator of the deal say that the government budget of £600,000 to celebrate the 25th annievrsary of the agreement is misplaced while the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to "trash" the 1998 agreement.

"I would urge the NIO to reconsider their priorities. First amongst those priorities must be to restore the foundation blocks of the Agreement they clearly want to celebrate in style, by restoring the principle of cross community consent that has been trashed by the Protocol. If they fail to do so, they will have contributed to the end of the Belfast Agreement. The clock is ticking.”

Mr Nesbitt acknowledged there have been a number of amendments to the agreement's legislation since 1998, but said he was most concerned about the impact of the NI Protocol.

"I believe personally in celebrating the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement that was signed on 10 April 1998," he told the News Letter.

"But I am not at all content with the way it has been implemented to date and in particular the impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol. It is a fundamental breach of international law.

"The EU abides by the territorial law of the state whenever it comes to the EU countries. But when it comes to Northern Ireland it is treated entirely differently. It is a hypocrite."

He added that while it was "quite a surprising amount of money" he would need to see the spending plans before commenting further.

An NIO spokeswoman responded that it was right that the historic moment is recognised “appropriately and sensitively”.

She added: “The 25th anniversary of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement marks an extraordinary achievement for Northern Ireland. It has broken down boundaries, brought people together and opened up opportunities. In doing so, it has helped to lay the foundation of the peaceful, free and prosperous Northern Ireland that we see today.

“25 years on, the Agreement is just as important today as it ever was. The anniversary offers the opportunity to look to the future, and consider how we can build on the remarkable progress Northern Ireland has made this past quarter century.

"The Northern Ireland Office will deliver an ambitious programme of activity throughout the anniversary year to mark this internationally important event.”