Boris Johnson has said his bill to tear up parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol could become law “very fast”, insisting his plan could be implemented by the end of 2022.
The prime minister, attending the G7 in Germany alongside senior EU figures, said it had formed “little” of his conversations – indicating he is not expecting a major row over the controversial plan.
MPs are set to vote later on Monday on controversial new legislation to give ministers powers to override parts of the post-Brexit deal.
Mr Johnson told reporters that he expected his plan to unilaterally scrap GB-NI checks could be carried out “fairly rapidly” – despite expectations that peers will block it for up to 12 months.
Asked at the summit if the protocol override measures could be in place this year, he said: “Yes, I think we could do it very fast, parliament willing.”
Despite outrage from Brussels that the unilateral move, the PM told broadcasters: “All we are saying is you can get rid of those [cehcks] whilst not in any way endangering the EU single market.”
Mr Johnson said it would be “even better” if we could “get some of that flexibility we need in our conversations with Maros Sefcovic”, the EU Commission vice-president. He added: “We remain optimistic.”
The move has sparked a fierce backlash from the bloc, with fresh legal action launched against Britain last week.
Mr Sefcovic indicated that further measures could follow if the UK presses ahead with the Bill. The dispute could ultimately lead to a trade war, with tariffs or even the suspension of the entire Brexit deal between the UK and EU.
As the bill returns to Parliament for its second reading on Monday, MPs will debate its main principles and decide whether it can proceed for further consideration.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss tweeted on Monday morning that the legislation will “fix the problems” with the protocol. “Our preference remains a negotiated outcome, but EU continues to rule out change to protocol.”
Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour would axe the proposed laws if it was in power, and confirmed his party will vote against the legislation at Westminster.
Alongside the second reading, the government is launching a series of “structured engagements” with the business community to discuss and gather views on the Bill’s implementation.
The Foreign Office is hosting the first roundtable event on Monday, bringing together more than a dozen major UK businesses and representative groups – including Asda, John Lewis and the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland.
The government wants to create green and red channels to differentiate between GB goods destined for use in NI – which would be freed of red tape – while checks would remain for shipments bound for onward transportation and across the Irish border into the EU.
And the introduction of a dual regulatory system would allow businesses selling in Northern Ireland to choose whether they comply with EU standards, UK standards or both.
Sinn Fein MP John Finucane branded the government’s plans “shameful” and said they will mean “more instability” for the region.
He told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme: “The British government seem to be tone deaf to the majority of the wishes of people here in continuing to push ahead with this legislation.”
