Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reportedly expressed outrage at Foreign Secretary Liz Truss over the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.
The Financial Times reported that tensions erupted at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, with Johnson “hooking” Ms. Truss, according to reports.
It is understood that her anger meant that Mrs Truss tightened parts of the legislation under pressure from Eurosceptic Conservative MPs, with a source telling the newspaper that Johnson was looking for a “negotiated solution” with the European Union.
It is also believed that several cabinet ministers, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak, wanted to ensure that the legislation, which is expected to be tabled on Monday, would not violate international law and lead to a possible trade war with the EU.
Reported internal fights between cabinet members come after Conservative MPs voted Monday 211 to 148 in support of Johnson.
Earlier, the government denied that it had not consulted one of its top legal advisers on plans to unilaterally rule out elements of the protocol.
Johnson rejected the claim that the first Treasury adviser, Sir James Eadie, the Government’s independent lawyer on important legal issues, had not received an opinion on the controversial bill to be introduced in Westminster.
The government intends to use domestic law to repeal aspects of the post-Brexit agreements governing trade in the Irish Sea, which were jointly agreed by the United Kingdom and the EU as part of the agreement. withdrawal.
Sky News reported that Sir James has not been consulted on whether the legislation would violate international law.
SDLP leader and Foyle MP Colum Eastwood challenged Mr Johnson on the report during Prime Minister’s Questions to the Commons.
“I can tell you that the reports you saw this morning are incorrect,” Johnson said.
“And what I can also say is that the most important commitment that I think everyone in this House has made is the balance and symmetry of the Belfast / Good Friday agreement.
“This is our highest international legal priority and this is what we need to do.”
Downing Street said there were “a number of legal experts” involved in the legislation, which has yet to be finalized.
“Obviously, the Secretary of State has made it clear that this is legal under international law and that we will set out our legal position in due course,” the official spokesman for the prime minister said.
“No final decision has been made on this. It is an important law and we will take the time to do it right.”
The UK is moving without EU consent to change the terms of the protocol to reduce the controls it requires on the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland.
The dispute over the protocol has sparked a political stalemate in Stormont, with the DUP blocking the reinstatement of a decentralized executive until major changes are made to the agreements the party claims have weakened Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.
The 1998 Good Friday / North Belfast Peace Agreement with Northern Ireland contains provisions to protect and develop relations both north / south on the island of Ireland and east / west between the island and Britain. .
The DUP claims, and the government agrees, that the protocol has upset this “delicate balance” of unionist and nationalist aspirations by undermining the East / West dynamic.