Colum Eastwood accuses Boris Johnson of 'prioritising cheap, dodgy beef from Australia'

The Foyle MP said the British Prime Minister should seek close phytosanitary alignment with the European Union in order to limit checks on goods arriving into Ireland from Britain.

Mr. Eastwood claimed that the UK Government was instead pursuing cheap food imports from other countries. Mr. Johnson denied this.

"The Prime Minister knows full well that the best way to reduce checks in the Irish sea is make do a Swiss-style sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the European Union. So far, he has decided not to do that. Why is he prioritising cheap, dodgy beef from Australia over the concerns of the people of Northern Ireland and reducing checks in the Irish sea?" he asked.

Mr. Johnson said: "No, what we are prioritising is the right and the ability of the people of Northern Ireland to have access—as they should, freely and uninterruptedly —to goods and services from the whole of the UK, and we are working to ensure that we protect the territorial and economic integrity of our country. That is what matters."