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Boris Johnson has said that his controversial legislation to nullify parts of his Brexit deal is necessary to end the EU’s threats to install a “blockade” in the Irish Sea.
The prime minister said Brussels could “divide our country” and “seriously jeopardize peace and stability” in Northern Ireland if Conservative MPs rebel to block internal market law.
Johnson is working to stifle a plan to amend the legislation of senior conservatives who are angry it could violate international law by overturning the withdrawal agreement signed with the EU last year.
The EU has called the move a serious breach of trust and has threatened legal action if Johnson does not alter the bill by the end of the month. But the prime minister has argued that it is “crucial for peace and for the union itself” and said rejecting it would reduce the chances of a trade deal with the EU.
Johnson said in the Telegraph: “We are now hearing that unless we accept the EU’s terms, the EU will use an extreme interpretation of the Northern Ireland protocol to impose a large-scale trade border in the Irish Sea.
“We are told that the EU will not only impose tariffs on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, but could actually stop the transport of food products from Great Britain to NI.
“I must say that we never seriously believed that the EU would be willing to use a treaty, negotiated in good faith, to block a part of the UK, to cut it off; or that they would actually threaten to destroy the economic and territorial integrity of the United Kingdom. “
He said that “in recent weeks” he learned that his negotiators had discovered that “there may be a serious misunderstanding about the terms” of the withdrawal agreement he signed in October.
Johnson argued that he agreed for “torrid” days with the deadline for a deal fast approaching as we “negotiated with one hand tied behind our back” because parliament blocked a no-deal Brexit.
“If we don’t pass this bill, or if we weaken its protections, then we will actually reduce the chances of getting that Canadian-style deal,” he wrote.
Let us remove this danger to the very fabric of the UK. Let’s get the EU to remove its threats from the table. And let’s pass this bill, support our negotiators and protect our country. “
However, both Ireland and the EU have warned that Johnson’s plans pose a serious risk to the peace process rather than protect the Good Friday deal.
The prime minister held a teleconference with some 250 MPs on Friday night to try to gain support for the bill and warned them against returning to the “miserable days of squabbling last fall.”
Johnson appeared not to have ended the unrest within his group during the call, and senior assistant Sir Bob Neill said he was not at ease with the speech.
Neill, who is introducing an amendment to the bill, which he says would impose a “parliamentary block” on any changes to the withdrawal agreement, said he still maintains it contains “objectionable” elements.
