Top judge slams British government over Brexit

On Tuesday, NI Secretary of State Brandon Lewis admitted that the government was prepared to break international law in a unilateral change to the Withdrawal Agreement which seeks to prevent a hard border in Ireland.

However, in what is seen as a significant intervention, Lord Chief Justice Morgan said he was “disappointed” at the move.

“Comments such as an indication that you’re going to break international law, albeit in only a small way, is something that may well undermine trust in the government, and certainly might undermine trust in the system of the administration of justice,” he said.

Mr Morgan said the stance of the British government made him “gravely uncomfortable”.

“It enables others to take the view that they can choose which laws apply to them,” he said. “We need to have a public which is confident that the law will be applied as it is and that it will be applied with integrity and independence.

“Domestic law is what it is, but international law is much more grounded in trust and confidence between nations, and where there is an indication that a state intends to break international law, it seems to me that it may have a domestic effect on the confidence the public has in the legal system generally.”

Meanwhile, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has warned that the UK’s Internal Market Bill is a “significant breach of international obligations” which will turn the UK into a “pariah state”.

It left the future of NI, he said, “in the hands of ministers who have demonstrated consistently that they do not have our interests at heart.”