Controversial legislation to overturn the Northern Ireland protocol will be released on Monday following a dispute between the government and Eurosceptics over whether it is tough enough.
The bill, which critics say may be illegal under international law, has been the subject of fierce lobbying by Eurosceptic archers in recent days who want the protocol removed altogether.
Boris Johnson and other senior ministers have been pressured by MEPs from the European Research Grouping (ERG) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to introduce legislation that seeks to take precedence over protocol and remove the role of the European Court of Justice.
Secretary of State Liz Truss and the Prime Minister met with Bill Cash, an ERG MP, earlier this week to discuss the legislation.
Laws have been drafted again over the past week, but cabinet ministers have refused to give the ERG a word that is too important in the outcome.
The EU has tightened its grip on UK action in recent weeks, with the Irish Taoiseach warning that abandoning the protocol would be a “historic low point” in relations, citing the Ukrainian war as a reason for must respect international law.
Micheál Martin said in an address to the European Parliament this week that breaching the protocol would make the world less secure and that Johnson should not “treat lightly” peace on the island of Ireland.
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However, Conor Burns, Northern Ireland’s minister and Johnson’s ally, said the UK government was “recalibrating, not breaking” the protocol.
The legislation also opposes some of Johnson’s own MPs from the Conservative Party’s One Nation wing, and former Treasury Secretary Jesse Norman warned on Monday that it was possibly illegal.
The discontent on both sides highlights Johnson’s difficulty in getting any legislation through parliament and, in particular, the House of Lords, where the Conservatives do not have a majority.