Britain set to tear up Brexit deal

Britain’s Foreign Secretary says there is little point trying to reach a Brexit deal with the EU.

British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss. Picture: Getty Images

Britain’s Foreign Secretary says there is little point trying to reach a Brexit deal with the EU and will move as soon as next week to scrap large parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Officials working for Liz Truss have drawn up draft legislation that would unilaterally ­remove the need for all checks on goods being sent from Britain for use in Northern Ireland.

It would also allow businesses in the province to disregard EU rules and regulations and take away the power of the European Court of Justice to rule on issues relating to Northern Ireland.

If passed, the bill would override the protocol agreed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019 and put Britain in breach of its obligations under the withdrawal agreement.

The 2019 deal aimed to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland by in effect keeping the north within the EU customs union and single ­market.

This meant that goods crossing between Britain and Northern Ireland had to be checked to prove they met EU rules. Even if the rest of Britain diverged from those rules, Northern Ireland would have to keep them.

Unionists have claimed that the protocol undermines the Belfast agreement that guaranteed the rights of unionist and nationalist communities. They say border checks damage the Britain-wide single market.

Government sources said the new bill went much further than had been expected by explicitly scrapping large parts of the protocol rather than simply giving ministers the power to do so in the future.

Ms Truss has been told that the strategy, which could be ­announced next Tuesday, will result in the EU suspending all co-operation with Britain, ­except on Ukraine, and instigating legal action against the government.

She has also been told that the bill, if passed by MPs, could lead to a trade war, with the EU ­imposing tariffs on British ­exports and potentially terminating the agreed free-trade deal.

However, Ms Truss is understood to have concluded that talks with the EU have hit an ­impasse and that EU’s negotiator Maros Sefcovic does not have the mandate to agree to an acceptable deal.

Ms Truss is expected to highlight the announcement by the DUP that it will boycott a new government in Northern Ireland until the protocol issue is ­resolved as justification for the move.

Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson said it had a “mandate from people” to take a stand against the protocol. However, Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Fein’s leader in Northern ­Ireland who will ­become first minister if power-sharing is re-established, accused the DUP of playing a game of brinkmanship.

“This will not be tolerated where the north of Ireland ­becomes collateral damage in a game of chicken with the European Commission,” she said.

A government source said Ms Truss was keen to press ahead with unilateral action after ­losing faith in “computer says no” negotiations with the EU.

Sources close to Ms Truss were blamed for briefing against Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Housing Secretary Michael Gove. It was reported that they had opposed her plan. Allies of Mr Sunak and Mr Gove denied this, saying it was “a decision for the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary”.

The Times