Northern Ireland minister orders halt to post-Brexit checks on goods from Britain
DUP member Edwin Poots and other unionist parties are opposed to the Northern Ireland protocol
02 February 2022 - 21:21
byIan Graham
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The entrance to the port of Larne in Northern Ireland. Picture: CHARLES MCQUILLAN/GETTY IMAGES
Belfast — Northern Ireland agriculture minister Edwin Poots has ordered a halt from midnight to all post-Brexit checks on goods coming from Britain.
Poots, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which opposes the Northern Ireland protocol, cited legal advice that the measures should not have been introduced without approval from the regional government.
The Northern Ireland protocol is the part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement that avoided a hard border with Ireland by creating a customs and regulatory border in the Irish Sea.
Poots added that he would seek a way forward “in the near future” within the devolved government that his party shares with rivals who support the protocol agreed with the EU before Britain left the bloc two years ago.
“The advice concluded that I can direct the checks to cease in the absence of executive approval. I have now issued a formal instruction to halt all checks that were not in place on Dec. 31 2020 from midnight tonight,” Poots told a news conference.
Other parties have accused him of using a stunt, saying the executive had already agreed that his department is responsible for carrying out the checks.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Northern Ireland minister orders halt to post-Brexit checks on goods from Britain
DUP member Edwin Poots and other unionist parties are opposed to the Northern Ireland protocol
Belfast — Northern Ireland agriculture minister Edwin Poots has ordered a halt from midnight to all post-Brexit checks on goods coming from Britain.
Poots, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which opposes the Northern Ireland protocol, cited legal advice that the measures should not have been introduced without approval from the regional government.
The Northern Ireland protocol is the part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement that avoided a hard border with Ireland by creating a customs and regulatory border in the Irish Sea.
Poots added that he would seek a way forward “in the near future” within the devolved government that his party shares with rivals who support the protocol agreed with the EU before Britain left the bloc two years ago.
“The advice concluded that I can direct the checks to cease in the absence of executive approval. I have now issued a formal instruction to halt all checks that were not in place on Dec. 31 2020 from midnight tonight,” Poots told a news conference.
Other parties have accused him of using a stunt, saying the executive had already agreed that his department is responsible for carrying out the checks.
Reuters
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