Ex-minister Lord Frost warns Liz Truss not to cave in to Brussels’ demands just to solve Northern Ireland Brexit row despite admitting impasse had led to ‘fragile’ relationship with the EU
- Frost, who led UK Brexit negotiations, hit out as he faced peers this afternoon
- He admitted that relations with the EU, including Ireland, remained fragile
- But he warned against agreeing to demands involving European Court of Justice
Lord Frost fired a warning shot at Liz Truss over Northern Ireland today, warning the Prime Minister not to cave in to EU demands to solve the ongoing post-Brexit trade row.
Frost, who led UK negotiations with Brussels ahead of quitting the bloc, hit out as he faced peers this afternoon.
He admitted that relations with the EU, including Ireland, remained fragile amid the ongoing impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
But he warned against agreeing to demands that the bloc’s Court of Justice (ECJ) remain an arbiter in any future trade rows.
Reports today suggest that Ms Truss may be willing to allow the ECJ to retain a role, as demanded by Brussels. The issue was previously seen as crossing a red line by Boris Johnson’s administration.
Appearing alongside Labour peer and former EU Commissioner Lord Mandelson today, Lord Frost said the ECJ ‘cannot have a jurisdictional or arbitration role in the future arrangements’.
‘I can’t see how they would be stable while that remained the case. It would be better if that was acknowledged sooner rather than later,’ he said.
Frost, who led UK negotiations with Brussels ahead of quitting the bloc, hit out as he faced peers this afternoon.
Appearing alongside Labour peer and former EU Commissioner Lord Mandelson today, Lord Frost said the ECJ ‘cannot have a jurisdictional or arbitration role in the future arrangements’.
It came amid attempts by the Government to repair fraying relations with Ireland and other EU bodies involved in Brexit after six tumultuous years.
Britain and Ireland held cordial talks last week on a range of issues, including the Northern Ireland Protocol, raising fresh hopes that an agreement can be reached with Brussels.
In a boost for Liz Truss after a challenging week, UK ministers said the energy crisis had pushed the two sides closer together, while Dublin welcomed the new positive approach.
It could mean that the Government drops its threat to rip up the protocol – which imposes strict checks on goods shipped across the Irish Sea – through a new law currently before Parliament.
Speaking after a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in London, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said: ‘I want to be very positive about the chances of getting a negotiated solution.
During the Tory Party Conference last week, a senior minister revealed he used the Queen’s state funeral to apologise to Irish politicians about the way the UK handled negotiations.
Steve Baker told delegates he said sorry to Dublin politicians for a lack of ‘respect’ during the years of talks, when they were in London last month.
Mr Baker, a Northern Ireland minister, is a hardline Leave supporter who resigned as Brexit minister in 2018 in protest at Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
He spent the rest of the protracted period before the UK quit the EU as a senior critic on the backbenches.
But speaking to the Birmingham conference he said ‘relations with Ireland are not where they should be’.
‘It’s with humility that I want to accept and acknowledge that I and others did not always behave in a way that encouraged Ireland and the European Union to trust us to accept they have legitimate interests – legitimate interests that we are willing to accept, because they do and we are willing to accept them,’ he said.
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