UK Labour politician Barry Gardiner has insisted he "absolutely" does not believe the Good Friday Agreement is outdated and said he was "deeply sorry" that remarks he made about the deal had led to a "misunderstanding".
Gardiner, Britain's shadow international trade secretary, told a conference in Brussels last month that the Irish Government was playing up the issue of the Border in Brexit negotiations for economic reasons and described the Good Friday Agreement as a "shibboleth".
In a recording of his remarks, which The Irish Times has heard, he said:
“I think we must also recognise that there are real economic reasons why people have played up the issue of the Irish border and the need to have the shibboleth of the Good Friday agreement. And that is because it is hugely in the Republic of Ireland’s economic interest to make sure that there is no tariff and no external border there”.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Mr Gardiner apologised for the remarks, saying: "The Good Friday Agreement is a vital and essential part of the relationship between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and has been central to the two decades of peace it has brought about.
“Labour is completely committed to the agreement and opposed to any return of a hard border between North and South.
“We are committed to negotiating a new customs union between the UK and Ireland as part of a final Brexit settlement, which would play a key role in ensuring there is no hard border.
“I am deeply sorry that my informal remarks in a meeting last month have led to misunderstanding on that point — in particular, that my use of the word ‘shibboleth’ in its sense of ‘pass word’ or ‘test of membership’ gave the impression that I thought the Good Friday Agreement was in any way outdated or unimportant. I absolutely do not.”
–PA
