Action over the Northern Ireland Protocol is “painfully, apparently necessary”, the Attorney General has said in a major hint the Government will override parts of the post-Brexit agreement. Boris Johnson was asked about the Northern Ireland Protocol after chairing a Cabinet away day in Stoke-on-Trent (Oli Scarff/PA)Ministers have been increasingly hinting they could take unilateral action, with Boris Johnson arguing the Good Friday Agreement is more important than the protocol he signed up to. The Prime Minister said a new executive in Northern Ireland could not be formed under the rules set out in the 1998 peace agreement without changes to the protocol. She told BBC’s Question Time she could not comment because of conventions binding the Government’s law officers, but suggested unilateral action could be required. “But looking at the way things are at the moment, taking action to protect Northern Ireland and the integrity of the United Kingdom, taking action to remove the burdensome checks and bureaucracy on the border, which is causing traders to stop trading with Great Britain and in fact, move their trade to Northern Ireland.

Source: The Times May 12, 2022 22:46 UTC