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Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has said he expects the UK to “break international law” with his proposals to change the way a key deal with the EU operates.
Mr Lewis told MPs on Tuesday it would be in a “very specific and limited way”, adding that there are “clear precedents” for the UK and other countries that need to consider their international obligations as circumstances change.
His Labor counterpart Louise Haigh described the admission as “absolutely staggering” and warned that it would “seriously undermine” the UK’s authority on the international stage.
The government will introduce the internal market bill on Wednesday, which aims to ensure that Northern Ireland products continue to have unrestricted access to the UK market, while also making clear EU state aid rules, which will continue to apply in Northern Ireland, will not apply in the rest of the UK.
Concerns have been raised that key parts of the Withdrawal Agreement, which sealed the UK’s exit from the EU in January, will be overridden by legislation.
Lewis told MPs that the government is “fully committed” to the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol.
But he added that the UK is taking “limited and reasonable steps to create a safety net” to enable it to meet its commitments to the people of Northern Ireland and stay in line with protocol in case outstanding issues are not resolved. in talks with the EU. .
Lewis told MEPs: “The UK internal market legislation that we will introduce this week fulfills our commitment to legislate for unrestricted access, something that Northern Ireland businesses have consistently asked us to do and ensure that we offer certainty. .
“This will give the assurance that people and businesses, the Northern Irish economy, has been calling for and supports the delivery of the protocol in all circumstances in accordance with the approach we set out in our command document in May.
“The safety net that we will implement, and we will outline this week, will fulfill the commitments assumed also in (our) general election manifesto.
“Specifically, we will implement the provision in the protocol that Northern Ireland is entirely part of the customs territory of the UK, ensuring that goods moving within the UK will never have to inadvertently pay EU tariffs.
“We will ensure that Northern Ireland-based companies have truly unfettered access to the rest of the UK without paperwork and we will ensure that there is no confusion over the fact that while Northern Ireland will remain subject to the EU state aid for the duration of the protocol, Great Britain will not be subject to EU rules in this area. “
Conservative Sir Bob Neill, chairman of the Justice Select Committee, later asked: “The Secretary of State has said that he is committed and that the Government is committed to the rule of law. Do you recognize that adherence to the rule of law is non-negotiable?
“In that context, will you assure us that nothing proposed in this legislation violates or could potentially violate international legal obligations or international legal agreements that we have entered into?”
Mr. Lewis responded: “I would tell (Sir Bob) that yes, this violates international law in a very specific and limited way.
“We are taking the power to discard the concept of direct EU effect required by Article 4 in certain very strictly defined circumstances.”
He added that “there are clear precedents for the UK and indeed other countries that need to consider their international obligations as circumstances change.”
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long tweeted: “NI’s Secretary of State has just admitted in Parliament that the government is about to violate international law. Her defense appears to be that ‘it is only in a very limited way’.
“I’m not sure you can be a bit illegal. It’s a bit like being a bit pregnant. “
Iain Duncan Smith, a former conservative party leader, said the government was “within its right” to review the Withdrawal Agreement.
Former Conservative Minister Sir John Redwood said the EU must live up to its commitment to respect the restoration of UK sovereignty and work for a tariff-free free trade agreement, telling the Commons: “If the EU maintains its word on these two colossally important points, the problems they have created in Northern Ireland would disappear. “- PA
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