Brexit Withdrawal Agreement u-turn would be ‘shocking act of bad faith’ - NI party leaders

SDLP Leader, Foyle MP Colum Eastwood and Sinn Féin leader Michelle O’Neill issued a joint statement with Alliance Party leader Naomi Long and Green Party leader Claire Bailey warning that the British government reneging on agreements with the EU designed to prevent a hard border in Ireland would be tantamount to a “shocking act of bad faith”.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson - speaking ahead of crucial final phase of negotiations with the EU - said yesterday that if there is no agreement by October 15, “then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on”.

He said: “We will then have a trading arrangement with the EU like Australia’s. I want to be absolutely clear that, as we have said right from the start, that would be a good outcome for the UK. As a Government we are preparing, at our borders and at our ports, to be ready for it. We will have full control over our laws, our rules, and our fishing waters. We will have the freedom to do trade deals with every country in the world. And we will prosper mightily as a result.”

He said the government wanted a free trade agreement like the one the EU has agreed with Canada, and warned “we will not compromise on the fundamentals of what it means to be an independent country to get it”.

Reacting to the developments yesterday, the four political leaders in the north representing the majority of citizens who voted to reject Brexit, warned that EU and UK negotiators had already agreed in full the terms of the Protocol on Ireland.

They stated: “While we believe that there is no good Brexit, and that the Protocol is imperfect, it guarantees that, whatever the circumstances, there will be no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and it will protect the Good Friday Agreement 1998 in all its dimensions, North-South cooperation, and the all-island economy.

“It is entirely unacceptable to the Northern Ireland parties that the UK Government would seek to abandon these safeguards and mitigations, which we believe would amount to a serious betrayal of an existing International Treaty.

“The economic and political impact on the island of Ireland, on the United Kingdom and above all on the people whom we represent would be devastating, long-lasting. It would represent a shocking act of bad faith that would critically undermine the Good Friday Agreement political framework and peace process and the UK’s ability to secure other crucial deals to protect the Northern Ireland economy.

“We therefore call upon the UK Government to honour its commitments, and to now ensure the rigorous implementation of the Protocol, prioritise peace and stability in Northern Ireland, and work to secure a future economic partnership with their EU colleagues now and in the weeks ahead.”