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Wednesday, October 23, 2019 10:28:52 AM
Unionists slam minister over 'disgraceful' Irish Sea checks
Northern Ireland committee members criticise Julian Smith over plans to require paperwork to move goods
Latest Brexit developments – live updates
Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent @lisaocarroll
Wed 23 Oct 2019 14.27 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/23/northern-ireland-unionist-mps-attack-brexit-betrayal
Unionist MPs have branded the government’s approach to Northern Ireland in the Brexit talks “despicable” and a “betrayal”.
In his first appearance before the Northern Ireland affairs select committee, Julian Smith, the Northern Ireland secretary, was questioned about plans to require businesses selling or transiting goods from the region to Britain to complete special paperwork in order to trade post-Brexit.
Smith said the checks would be minimal and the focus should be on the “great opportunities” awaiting Northern Ireland.
He said the government would work with businesses to ensure the withdrawal agreement bill would as far as possible allow unfettered trade between Northern Ireland and Britain.
But Ian Paisley Jr, the DUP MP for North Antrim, said it was disgraceful to expect any business to complete paperwork for goods being sold in “our country, not a foreign country”.
In a tense exchange, he asked Smith where he lived. When Smith told him he lived in North Yorkshire and London, Paisley said: “If you had to move goods from North Yorkshire to London and have to fill in a form, you’d feel pretty aggrieved about that. We are in the same country. It is disgraceful.”
The committee also heard that £15m of taxpayers’ money has been spent on Stormont politicians include members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) since it collapsed in January 2017. MLAs are being paid almost £36,000 a year for not sitting, while the speaker of the chamber is being paid £56,000 a year having sat for one day in almost three years.
Sylvia Hermon, an independent unionist MP, said this was “absolutely outrageous”, and Smith admitted it was “unacceptable” but stopped short of vowing to cut the salaries. He argued it was best to focus on getting Stormont restored because the alternative – direct rule from Westminster – was worse.
The DUP had previously accepted that regulatory checks would be needed on goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland as a concession designed to obviate the need for checks on the Irish border. The plans for checks on goods going the other way emerged on Monday.
Smith tried to offer reassurances but was laughed at when he said the latest chapter in Brexit was a “healing process”.
“This is healing process?” Hermon asked. “I think you should speak to some of the unionist parties if you think this is a healing process since the deal was brought home last Thursday. There has been considerable disquiet, anger, to put it mildly, amongst the unionist community,” she said.
The DUP’s Jim Shannon said it was an “absolutely despicable deal” and the union flag in Northern Ireland was hanging “a wee bit tattered at the moment”.
The government’s Brexit impact assessment paper that accompanied the publication of the withdrawal agreement bill on Monday night shows that east-west checks would affect 3,517 businesses.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/23/northern-ireland-unionist-mps-attack-brexit-betrayal
Adam Bienkov @AdamBienkov -
How the prime minister's spokesman responded when I asked why Boris Johnson keeps on saying there won't be checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, when his own impact assessment states there will.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-withdrawal-agreement-bill
THREAD
Northern Ireland committee members criticise Julian Smith over plans to require paperwork to move goods
Latest Brexit developments – live updates
Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent @lisaocarroll
Wed 23 Oct 2019 14.27 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/23/northern-ireland-unionist-mps-attack-brexit-betrayal
Unionist MPs have branded the government’s approach to Northern Ireland in the Brexit talks “despicable” and a “betrayal”.
In his first appearance before the Northern Ireland affairs select committee, Julian Smith, the Northern Ireland secretary, was questioned about plans to require businesses selling or transiting goods from the region to Britain to complete special paperwork in order to trade post-Brexit.
Smith said the checks would be minimal and the focus should be on the “great opportunities” awaiting Northern Ireland.
He said the government would work with businesses to ensure the withdrawal agreement bill would as far as possible allow unfettered trade between Northern Ireland and Britain.
But Ian Paisley Jr, the DUP MP for North Antrim, said it was disgraceful to expect any business to complete paperwork for goods being sold in “our country, not a foreign country”.
In a tense exchange, he asked Smith where he lived. When Smith told him he lived in North Yorkshire and London, Paisley said: “If you had to move goods from North Yorkshire to London and have to fill in a form, you’d feel pretty aggrieved about that. We are in the same country. It is disgraceful.”
The committee also heard that £15m of taxpayers’ money has been spent on Stormont politicians include members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) since it collapsed in January 2017. MLAs are being paid almost £36,000 a year for not sitting, while the speaker of the chamber is being paid £56,000 a year having sat for one day in almost three years.
Sylvia Hermon, an independent unionist MP, said this was “absolutely outrageous”, and Smith admitted it was “unacceptable” but stopped short of vowing to cut the salaries. He argued it was best to focus on getting Stormont restored because the alternative – direct rule from Westminster – was worse.
The DUP had previously accepted that regulatory checks would be needed on goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland as a concession designed to obviate the need for checks on the Irish border. The plans for checks on goods going the other way emerged on Monday.
Smith tried to offer reassurances but was laughed at when he said the latest chapter in Brexit was a “healing process”.
“This is healing process?” Hermon asked. “I think you should speak to some of the unionist parties if you think this is a healing process since the deal was brought home last Thursday. There has been considerable disquiet, anger, to put it mildly, amongst the unionist community,” she said.
The DUP’s Jim Shannon said it was an “absolutely despicable deal” and the union flag in Northern Ireland was hanging “a wee bit tattered at the moment”.
The government’s Brexit impact assessment paper that accompanied the publication of the withdrawal agreement bill on Monday night shows that east-west checks would affect 3,517 businesses.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/23/northern-ireland-unionist-mps-attack-brexit-betrayal
Adam Bienkov @AdamBienkov -
How the prime minister's spokesman responded when I asked why Boris Johnson keeps on saying there won't be checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, when his own impact assessment states there will.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-withdrawal-agreement-bill
THREAD
How the prime minister's spokesman responded when I asked why Boris Johnson keeps on saying there won't be checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, when his own impact assessment states there will. pic.twitter.com/4CmVYY9CeB
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) October 23, 2019
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