Former Conservative chancellor Lord Clarke says the NI Protocol Bill is 'poisoning the whole relationship' behind UK-EU negotiations, asking peers in the House of Lords how they would feel if 'the Europeans put a similar blunderbuss in front of us'
The protocol is opposed by unionists, who argue that it undermines Northern Ireland's place in the UKAdvancing the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill through Parliament is "poisoning the whole relationship" behind UK-EU negotiations, Lord Clarke has said."What would our reaction be if the Europeans came to the table and put a similar blunderbuss in front of us?" the former chancellor asked on Tuesday.
Former DUP deputy leader Lord Dodds also spoke in favour of the bill, saying that supporting it was not incompatible with seeking a negotiated outcome. If the bill is passed into law it would give the UK government unilateral powers to change the operation and oversight of the protocol. Relations between the UK and EU appeared to have improved since Boris Johnson left office and both London and Brussels have been talking up the potential for striking a deal through a fresh round of negotiations.
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