Politics

Northern Ireland Protocol Bill clears latest hurdle but branded ‘a pig of a law’

Bill’s biggest test expected to come when further amendments are discussed

The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill completed its committee stage in the House of Lords. Photograph: Niklas Halle'n/AFP via Getty Images
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill completed its committee stage in the House of Lords. Photograph: Niklas Halle'n/AFP via Getty Images
Tue Nov 08 2022 - 07:00

The UK government’s attempts to effectively tear up parts of the Northern Ireland protocol have cleared their latest hurdle in parliament.

The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill completed its committee stage in the House of Lords after peers spent four days debating amendments, amid claims it is a “pig of a law”.

The Bill’s biggest test is expected to come when further amendments are discussed and voted on at report stage, given the government lacks an overall majority in the unelected upper chamber.

The protocol is aimed at avoiding a hard Border with the Republic of Ireland, but it has created economic barriers on the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland, causing resentment and anger among many unionists and loyalists.

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The DUP has refused to return to powersharing in the Assembly until decisive action is taken over the protocol.

The UK government has vowed to secure changes to the agreement, either with a negotiated compromise with the European Union or through the Bill, which would empower ministers to scrap the arrangements without the approval of Brussels. But critics warn the Bill would break international law and risk a trade war with the EU.

Foreign office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, closing the committee stage, told peers: “I know there has been much where at the moment there is more detail required, both in terms of regulations and information to be shared.

“I have fully heard also, from my perspective as the minister of state at the FCDO, about the real desire to have more detail in terms of the current discussions taking place, the negotiations framework within the context of our conversations with the European Union, and I do hope that over the coming days again we’ll be able to provide further detail on how things are progressing.”

Independent cross-bencher Lord Kerr of Kinlochard previously said efforts to secure changes to the legislation are like “trying to put lipstick on a pig”.

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Lord Purvis of Tweed said on Monday evening: “It’s got lipstick on now, it’s got a bit more make-up, we’ve given it a nice frock, but it’s still a pig of a law and that’s not changed.

“It’s illegal, it’s a power grab and it won’t work, and fundamentally those three aspects are what we will have to decide about whether it even goes into report.”

Earlier Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) former leader Lord Empey said Northern Irish politicians’ backs were “full of dagger holes” because UK ministers had not trusted them to join post-Brexit talks. He made the claim as he urged the government to give Stormont’s policymakers a seat at the negotiating table over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade arrangements.

Lord Empey told peers: “One minister – he meant well, I have no doubt – said a week or two ago, ‘Leave it to us, we have got your back here, we will look after it for you’.

“Well, I have to say, with the greatest respect, we know all about that. Our backs are that full of dagger holes that we know all about it.

“We will only believe what we see and what we hear ourselves. Bring our politicians into the picture, bring them to the table with you, so they are not your enemy.

“I accept, of course, we are dealing with an international issue and foreign affairs and related matters are not devolved. I get that.

“But have we not enough flexibility that we can bring people along as part of our delegation so they can see persons and papers?” – PA