Northern Ireland Protocol Bill — Clause 1 — Overview of main provisions — 13 Jul 2022 at 17:00

“to safeguard an essential interest against a grave and imminent peril”.

“The British people…are fed up with us not delivering, they are fed up with unfulfilled promises”.

“This Act…provides that certain specified provision of the Northern Ireland Protocol does not have effect in the United Kingdom”.

“The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill needs to be changed so that it actually solves the problem. That means VAT, excise and medicines should be under UK law from day one-currently they are not. The bill’s ‘dual regulatory regime’ lets EU law flow into Northern Ireland in perpetuity. We need to sunset that and provide a mechanism for moving to Mutual Enforcement. Otherwise we’re giving Brussels a legislative blank cheque. These are all changes I’ve been fighting for while in government. Without them, the bill treats people living in Northern Ireland as second-class citizens.”

“My answer to all those who question whether the Bill is legal under international law is that…it is not.”

“As a patriot, I would not want to do anything to diminish this country in the eyes of the world. I have to say to the Government that this Bill is not in my view legal in international law, it will not achieve its aims and it will diminish the standing of the United Kingdom in the eyes of the world. I cannot support it.”-[Official Report, 27 June 2022; Vol. 717, c. 64.]

“The Bill risks economically harmful retaliation and runs the risk of shredding our reputation as a guardian of international law and the rules-based system. How in the name of heaven can we expect to speak to others with authority when we ourselves shun, at a moment’s notice, our legal obligations?”-[Official Report, 27 June 2022; Vol. 717, c. 55.]

“the Bill we are proposing to put through this House tonight will be a gross breach of international law if it is enacted and implemented.”-[Official Report, 27 June 2022; Vol. 717, c. 88.]

“The Bill is in clear breach of international law as it seeks to change unilaterally the domestic effect of an international agreement that the UK has signed up to, without legal justification.”

“The agreement condition is that the United Kingdom and the EU have agreed following negotiations that the provision is excluded provision.

The Article 16 condition is that the United Kingdom is unilaterally taking appropriate safeguard measures, in accordance with Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol”.

“as a matter of principle, comply with public international law and the rule of international law, pacta sunt servanda (agreements are to be kept)”.

“We know that, famously, from the Labour Government a couple of decades ago, when there was an enormous controversy about that.”

“lawful, legitimate and entirely consistent with the protocol”

“does not violate international law. It does not violate the protocol. I have heard people who should know better saying that it does, but I am afraid that they are wrong. They are obviously not international lawyers.”

“The Government are proposing to derogate from those articles, and article 16 allows them to do so, where they consider it necessary in one of three circumstances. The one that is relevant here is societal difficulties”

“If the collapse of power sharing in Northern Ireland is not a societal difficulty, I do not know what is.”

“a power of the sort we rarely see-a power that in essence allows Ministers to rip up and rewrite an Act of Parliament.”

“securing compliance with, or giving effect to, any international obligation or agreement to which the United Kingdom is a party”.

This is a paving amendment for NC8.

Debate in Parliament |