Brexit LIVE: DUP 'ransom' threatens six months of chaos as row over hated deal turns ugly
THE DEMOCRATIC Unionist Party is poised to block the formation of a new power-sharing executive in Stormont due to the ongoing Brexit row.
Protocol: PM ‘knew all along’ says GB News host
KEY EVENTS
EU torn apart for restarting NI troubles - ‘we’re good at winning wars in Europe!
Mark Dolan has torn the EU apart over the Northern Ireland Protocol claiming that the bloc has already "restarted the troubles".
The GB News presenter argued that Brussels had reached a “new low” by strictly enforcing the protocol harming “our beloved Northern Ireland” which he argues is the “jewel in this country’s crown”.
Mr Dolan said the protocol “disgracefully divides our country” and is about as useful as a “condom in a monastery”.
Michel Barnier lashes out over protocol
Michel Barnier has slammed Boris Johnson's Government over a potential breach of the Northern Ireland Protocol, calling them cynical.
As tensions are ratcheting up between the European Union and Boris Johnson’s Government over the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU’s former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier hit out at Boris Johnson for reneging on the deal.
In January 2020, both blocs agreed and signed the protocol with the aim of protecting the Good Friday Agreement and leaving the border open between the two Irelands.
Instead of putting up a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, they bilaterally decided to create a checks border in the Irish Sea.
'They are holding the public to ransom for their Brexit mess'
Michelle O'Neill has accused the DUP of "holding the public to ransom for their Brexit mess".
Sharing her anger on Twitter the Sein Finn Vice President said: "Today is the day we should be forming an Executive to put money in peoples pockets and to start to fix our health service.
"The DUP have confirmed they will punish the public and not turn up. They are disgracefully holding the public to ransom for their Brexit mess. Shameful."
Today is the day we should be forming an Executive to put money in peoples pockets and to start to fix our health service. The DUP have confirmed they will punish the public and not turn up. They are disgracefully holding the public to ransom for their Brexit mess. Shameful.
\u2014 Michelle O\u2019Neill (@moneillsf) May 13, 2022
Boris to send direct Sinn Fein Brexit ultimatum in DAYS
Boris Johnson will visit Northern Ireland to resolve a Brexit row between Sinn Fein and the DUP.
Ms O'Neil said she will tell Mr Johnson to “stop pandering to the DUP” amid the power-sharing row.
Downing Street has not yet confirmed Mr Johnson will be visiting Northern Ireland.
Britons rage at 'EU bullies' as Truss threatens to torpedo Brexit deal
Express.co.uk readers have urged the UK Government to take the action and "rip up" the agreement.
One user wrote: "The magic money tree has dried up, rip up the whole of the EU agreement and deal directly with countries that want to facilitate trade".
A second, AndyMc09 wrote: "This whole affair sums the EU up perfectly.
"A pedantic, bureaucratic mess."
What would happen if the Brexit trade deal was suspended?
An EU insider has claimed the bloc would launch infringement procedures against the UK and suspend the Brexit trade agreement if Liz Truss puts forward legislation to rip up the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Negotiations between the two sides have long been in stalemate as neither can reach a compromise on the de facto border in place between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
According to Bloomberg, who the unnamed EU source spoke to, the bloc is prepared to freeze "the privileged access that UK companies have to the EU single market, [and] the bloc would also halt talks over the status of Gibraltar".
But what would happen if the Brexit trade deal was suspended?
'Think long and hard before you insult the electorate'
Naomi Long has used her Assembly speech to address the challenges facing politics in Northern Ireland.
The Alliance leader said they came with a "can-do attitude and a commitment to serve the people who elected us".
She continued: "Many of us in this chamber represent people who did not consent to Brexit in the first place. And yet we turned up for work.
Ms Long went on to appeal to the DUP to "think long and hard before they insult the electorate".
Washington reps jet to London to unleash fury at Brexit
A delegation of US congressmen and women will fly to London in just days to warn the Government to continue negotiations with the EU.
Richie Neal, who heads up the US's influential ways and means committee, will be among those in attendance.
The committee has significant power over future trade deals and Mr Neal has previously warned he will not support a pact with the UK if the Good Friday Agreement is in "jeopardy" because of the Government's actions.
His views echo similar comments made by President Joe Biden.
A spokeswoman for the White House said earlier this week: "The best path forward is a pragmatic one that requires courage, cooperation and leadership.
"We urge the parties to continue engaging in dialogue to resolve differences and bring negotiations to a successful conclusion."
Good afternoon
Good afternoon I'm Francesca Edwards, I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments on bREXIT for the next eight hours. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Your thoughts are always welcome.
Email: francesca.edwards@reachplc.com
Twitter: @FrankieLEdwards
'More willing to humiliate us than Russia!' Frost in furious attack on Macron over Brexit
The former minister lashed out at Paris for deliberately inflaming tensions with the UK. He accused President Macron of wanting to hurt Britain as punishment for leaving the EU.
Lord Frost said at an event last night: "A lot of committed Europeans, who believe in the European ideal simply cannot see the logic of Brexit.
"They think it is inevitably damaging, inevitably self-harming, won't engage with any of the trade-offs around it that produce the results.
"And so, they have no compunction in doing things that makes Britain's life difficult because it seems that's the natural order of things as a result of the decision we took."
The former civil servant, who led negotiations with Brussels on behalf of the UK, warned Britain would "undoubtedly" see more efforts from France and others to undermine the success of Brexit.
Taking aim at Mr Macron he attacked the French President's treatment of the UK when compared to his dealings with Vladimir Putin.
"Macron's remarks about Putin I think are a pity," he told The Heritage Foundation.
"I'm sorry he's more willing to humiliate us than the Russians really."
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Mr Macron has held a number of long phone calls with Moscow.
Brexit talks go nowhere - Should Liz Truss refuse more meetings with EU?
Brexit talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol have resulted in a deadlock as the EU refuses to cater to UK demands. Should Liz Truss refuse more meetings with the EU?
‘Nightmare’ election result leaves ‘anxious’ Ireland desperate to resolve Brexit deadlock
In a blog penned for the Politeia think tank, Ray Bassett, Ireland’s former ambassador to Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas, offered a blunt assessment, suggesting the result was “the stuff of nightmares” for Mr Martin and Mr Varadkar.
He further suggested it would make both increasingly eager to resolve the deadlock surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol, the mechanism agreed between the UK and the EU which is intended to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. Unionist critics claim the Protocol has instead driven a wedge between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by imposing a border down the Irish Sea.
Mr Bassett suggested the Irish Government, led by Taoiseach Micheal Martin and his Tanaiste (or deputy) Leo Varadkar would already be feeling distinctly queasy.
He explained: “The Irish Government is very uneasy about the election outcome. The Taoiseach and Tanaiste never even congratulated Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Fein on their triumph.
Lord Frost's Brexit bombast as he tells Boris 'don't fear' EU retaliation on hated deal
The former Brexit minister said the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss must act fast to save the Good Friday Agreement as the EU refuses to renegotiate.
Writing for The Telegraph, Lord Frost said Mr Johnson and Ms Truss must act against Brussels with the same determination shown against Russia's attack on Ukraine.
He wrote: "The Government has no option now other than to act unilaterally to disapply part or all of the Protocol.
"The Belfast Good Friday Agreement, which the Protocol is supposed to protect, is on life support. Sometimes governments and their leaders must just do the right thing.
"Fortunately, doing the right thing is usually also the best thing for our country. Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have shown they are leaders in Ukraine.
Truss claims ‘no choice’ but to change hated Brexit deal
Liz Truss said the Government has “no choice but to act” on the Northern Ireland Protocol, talks over which continue to stall.
Catherine Barnard, professor of EU law at the University of Cambridge, presented the Foreign Secretary with five options for resolving the issue, including the much-touted triggering of Article 16 as well as the implementation of various sections of the Withdrawal Agreement and an article of the Vienna Convention.
Professor Barnard told the Guardian she believes Whitehall is focussing its attention on this last point, Article 62 of the Vienna Convention, which allows a country to withdraw from an international treaty when “a fundamental change of circumstances which has occurred”, but she stressed there would be more challenges ahead.