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Boris Johnson has urged Conservative MPs to support Brexit-related legislation that his government has admitted violates international law.
Addressing some 250 MPs on Friday evening, the prime minister said the controversial UK Internal Market Act was necessary to avoid “an economic barrier in the Irish Sea”.
He added that certain clauses of the same are “absolutely vital to protect the integrity of our country.”
Earlier this week, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told MPs that the proposed legislation “violates international law in a very specific and limited way“.
The bill, which nullifies parts of the EU divorce deal, was drafted to ensure that trade between the four home nations remains barrier-free after Brexi The transition period ends on December 31, 2020.
In his speech, Johnson said a rift had opened between the UK and the EU over Northern Ireland.
He told MPs: “In recent weeks I have had a concern about a difference of opinion that is becoming severe in your interpretation and our interpretation of the Northern Ireland protocol.”
He continued: “The difficulty has been that the EU has decided that unless we agree with its interpretation of what the controls would be, then the default position in case of no agreement is that there should be nothing less than a barrier. economic through the Irish Sea with tariffs “.
The prime minister added: “So what we have to do is clarify what I think is a serious anomaly in the protocol and put a safety net underneath it.”
“What we cannot have is the threat of a border in the Irish Sea and the threat of the UK breaking up.”
The prime minister insisted that “there is still a very good chance of a Canada-style (trade) deal.”
There has been progress in recent months, he said, and the EU negotiating team has “realized how serious we are and what we want to achieve.”
Johnson urged MPs to examine the bill carefully and offer it their “overwhelming support”, adding that it was about the “political integrity of our country.”
He also asked them not to go back to the “miserable fight days of last fall.”
It is understood that there were connection problems and the prime minister did not answer questions.
Some high-level conservatives are planning to amend the legislation and big including former party leaders Michael Howard, John Major and Theresa May have spoken out against it.
Lord Howard described the government’s admission that the proposed legislation would violate international law as a “very, very sad day.”
The European Commission has given the UK until the end of the month to abandon it and is threatening to take legal action.
The controversy deepened while the call was made with the deputies, and the leaders of the European Parliament said that “under no circumstances would they ratify” any trade agreement reached if “the UK authorities violate or threaten to violate” the Withdrawal Agreement.
However, the prime minister’s official spokesman said the government’s position remained that the provisions of the bill were “critical” to the preservation of the Northern Ireland peace process.
He said the UK will continue to strive for a deal and called on the EU to show “more realism”.
The bill returns to the Commons on Monday.
