Boris Johnson has claimed that his government’s plans to unilaterally rip up parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol could become law “very fast”.
As MPs gather to debate the controversial legislation aimed at overriding parts of the mechanism governing post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland, Mr Johnson claimed the laws – which risk retaliation and even a trade war with the EU – could be implemented in 2022.
His comments at the G7 summit fly in the face of expectations that peers will block the legislation for up to 12 months.
The prime minister also insisted he was unperturbed by potential plots by his fellow Tories to oust him, following a stinging double by-election defeat and the resignation of Tory Party chair Oliver Dowden.
Questions over his leadership were “settled” during the recent confidence vote, he insisted despite reporting over the weekend suggesting Tory MPs have submitted a flurry of new no confidence letters to the 1922 Committee, in a fresh rebellion allegedly provoked by his claim to be planning a third term.
