BELFAST (Reuters) – The British government plans to bring forward legislation in early June to unilaterally scrap some of the rules governing post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland, the leader of the region’s largest pro-British party said on Friday.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Tuesday she would introduce the new law “in the coming weeks” while also continuing talks with the European Union to break a deadlock on the Northern Ireland protocol. The move caused anger across the EU and among some senior U.S. lawmakers.
“My understanding is that the government will bring forward the legislation early in June,” Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson told reporters after what he described as a useful meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.
The DUP are pushing the UK government to replace the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed with the EU as part of the deal over Britain’s exit from the bloc.
“We’re not interested in a sticking plaster approach or tinkering around the edges, it has to be fundamental change that respects Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom. Nothing short of that will suffice,” Donaldson said.
(Reporting by Amanda Ferguson, writing by Padraic Halpin, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)
