PM Vows Brexit Action As Protocol Threatens Trade War

Mr Johnson was in Belfast yesterday as the promise of legislation on the Northern Ireland protocol fails to break the power-sharing deadlock

- Andrew Woodcock

Boris Johnson has confirmed he will press ahead with legislation to override the Northern Ireland protocol, despite warnings from Brussels that it will breach the UK's international legal obligations and a plea from the Bank of England not to spark a damaging trade war with Europe.

But the risky move looked unlikely to break the deadlock over the formation of a new power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland, with the unionist Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) insisting that it wants “decisive action” from the PM before it will drop its boycott. Foreign secretary Liz Truss spoke by phone last night with European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic and US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, ahead of a statement to the Commons today in which she will set out the government's plans to legislate.

It is understood that the bill – not set to be tabled for another few weeks - will grant London unilateral powers not only to relax checks on goods heading to Northern Ireland from mainland Britain, but also to remove all European Court of Justice (ECJ) involvement in border issues and to vary VAT rates in the province without agreement from Brussels.

A senior EU source told The Independent that both the ECJ and VAT provisions are likely to breach the terms of the Brexit deal negotiated and signed by Mr Johnson in 2019. Mr Johnson described the legislation as “insurance” in case talks with the EU - which are likely to continue during the lengthy passage of the bill through parliament - fail to end the disruption to east/west movements of goods resulting from Brexit. Senior Conservatives warned against a move that would permit Brussels to retaliate with tariffs on UK exports.