Boris Johnson's Brexit Deal Plan Breaks The Law, Minister Admits
A cabinet minister has admitted Boris Johnson’s plan to change his own Brexit deal breaks international law.
Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis said the proposals to change the operation of his own withdrawal agreement (WA), which smoothed the UK’s departure from the EU in January, breaks the law in a “very specific and limited way”.
The plan threatens to collapse Brexit negotiations on a trade deal and have left the prime minister’s predecessor Theresa May questioning whether the UK can be “trusted” internationally.
Here it is. A British cabinet minister telling the House of Commons that the UK will break international law. pic.twitter.com/MtCTk1ro7F
— Joe Miller (@JoeMillerJr) September 8, 2020
Johnson is trying to unpick key sections of the WA on trade in Northern Ireland, despite negotiating the provisions himself to make the deal initially negotiated by his predecessor May more palatable to the Conservative Party.
The prime minister’s plan would give UK ministers key powers to decide when EU rules apply to Northern Ireland, in apparent defiance of his own deal.
During an urgent question on the plan, veteran Tory Sir Bob Neill, who chairs the Commons justice committee, told Lewis that “adherence to the rule of law is not negotiable”.
He went on: “Against that background, will he assure us that nothing that is proposed in this legislation does or potentially might breach international legal obligations or international legal arrangements that we have entered into?”
Lewis replied: “Yes this does break international law in a very specific and limited way.”
The exchange came after the head of the government’s legal department Jonathan Jones quit, reportedly over Johnson’s plans for the WA.
Lewis refused to comment on the reasons for Jones’ resignation.
In a message to staff, Jones reportedly did not address directly address the issue but thanks the legal department for wrestling with the “unique legal and constitutional...
