Dispute over Northern Ireland Protocol: Johnson threatens Sunak with rebellion

A good three years after Brexit, a solution to the Northern Ireland issue is emerging. However, Prime Minister Sunak’s draft law is a thorn in the side of his predecessor Johnson. The ex-prime minister is trying to prevent the law by any means – even if it means a rebellion within the Conservative Party.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is putting his successor Rishi Sunak under pressure in view of an impending agreement with the EU on Brexit rights for Northern Ireland, according to media reports. Johnson is threatening a rebellion within the Conservative Party, the BBC and several other outlets have reported. Background: If an agreement were reached with Brussels, Sunak would give up a bill that would allow London to terminate the existing Northern Ireland agreement on its own.

From the point of view of Johnson and other Conservative MPs, however, the planned law is a means of exerting pressure in future disputes with the EU. The ex-prime minister, who resigned last year, thought it would be “a big mistake” to abandon the law, a confidante was quoted as saying. Sunak had said on Saturday that there was still no agreement with the EU. The current head of government has been in office since October last year. Under Johnson he was Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The so-called Northern Ireland Protocol is an addendum to the Brexit Treaty. It provides for special customs rules for Northern Ireland in order to keep the border between the British province and the EU state of Ireland open – also to prevent the Northern Ireland conflict from flaring up again. However, the agreement has created a de facto customs border in the Irish Sea, separating Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

Supporters of the union with Great Britain therefore fear that the protocol paves the way for reunification with EU member Ireland. The most important Protestant Unionist party DUP has therefore been blocking the formation of a new government in Northern Ireland for months. Johnson signed the Northern Ireland Protocol himself. But he has long been calling for a revision, since the internationally binding treaty created a customs border between the British provinces and the rest of the United Kingdom. There were trade barriers.