A move against the Northern Ireland protocol is unlikely to feature in the forthcoming queen's speech, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis has intimated.
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has urged the British government to act on unionists' concerns in relation to the post-Brexit trading arrangements, criticising the arrangements as harmful to the union and calling for Northern Ireland's position in the UK internal market to be protected. The protocol is part of the EU-UK Brexit withdrawal agreement which guarantees a special post-Brexit trading status for the North to avoid a hard Border in Ireland.
However, on Wednesday evening, Mr Lewis said the British government wanted to resolve issues with the protocol by agreement with the European Union.
Asked if the government is planning to introduce a new law allowing it to waive elements of the protocol, as had been suggested in recent weeks, Mr Lewis signalled that this would not be in the queen’s speech.
He told an interview with ITV's Robert Peston: "Our focus is on resolving the issues with the protocol, ideally we want to do that by agreement with the European Union."
Pressed on whether an announcement would come next week, he said: “No, Robert, we’ve not said that.”
Mr Lewis said: “What we’ve been clear about is at the moment, the protocol is causing problems in civic society, it’s causing problems with the Good Friday [Belfast] Agreement.
"Our duty to the people of Northern Ireland is to resolve those issues. Yes, we want to do that with the EU and that's what [foreign secretary] Liz Truss has been focused on."
The queen’s speech is part of the formal opening of the parliamentary year. This year’s speech is scheduled for May 10th and will follow UK local elections on Thursday.
DUP opposition
The DUP withdrew first minister Paul Givan from the Stormont executive in February in protest at the protocol, a move which left the institutions unable to fully function.
Mr Donaldson has made his call for action against the protocol a key part of his party's campaign for the Stormont Assembly election which takes place on Thursday.
He said his party will not enter a future executive unless the British government takes action on the protocol.
He has addressed a series of rallies which have taken place across Northern Ireland in recent months against the protocol.
However, Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill has accused the DUP of “holding us all to ransom” over its position on refusing to go back into an executive without action on the Northern Ireland protocol. – PA
