There is, however, thought to be a large section of Tory MPs who voted to stay with the EU but will back the Bill provided it is shown to be lawful. On Sunday, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, sought to reassure them as he pledged the legislation would not breach international law and that … Read more
Sources said there was some surprise when Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, who is said to have used colorful language during the meeting, initially sided with Mr Gove and Mr Sunak. Tensions were raised when the Prime Minister told the meeting “very clearly that our objective is not to be sovereignty purists but to find … Read more
Twenty five years ago next year, John Hume and I signed the historic Good Friday Agreement which, thank God, ended 40 years of a terrorist campaign that caused tens of thousands of injuries and deaths and billions of pounds of economic damage to Northern Ireland. The agreement was not perfect, it faced opposition from many, … Read more
Ireland and the UK are co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, which has delivered almost 25 years of peace and security in Northern Ireland. Ireland and the UK worked in close partnership to deliver successive milestones in the peace process including the Anglo-Irish Agreement under Margaret Thatcher and the Downing Street Declaration under John Major. … Read more
No longer can anyone stand at the Despatch Box and argue that the Protocol is protecting peace and stability in Northern Ireland. The people have spoken. Every Unionist candidate standing in the election opposed the Protocol. Forty per cent of all cast votes were explicitly for anti-Protocol parties – 360,000 in total. Northern Ireland’s peace … Read more