The Foreign Secretary will today declare her intention to bring forward legislation which rips up parts of the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal on Northern Ireland.
It is understood that Liz Truss will make the announcement in a statement to the Commons following a full Cabinet meeting, in an attempt to restore powersharing in the region. The row over the Northern Ireland Protocol has created an impasse in efforts to form a new Executive in Stormont, with the Democratic Unionist Party refusing to join an administration unless its concerns over the arrangements are addressed.
A majority of MLAs in Stormont’s newly elected Assembly represent parties that support retaining the protocol, with many arguing that the arrangement offers the region protection from some of the negative economic consequences of Brexit. They also point to the unfettered access Northern Ireland traders have to sell into the EU single market as a key benefit of the protocol.
