NI Protocol: Legislation passes third Commons stage without any amendments

Bids to amend and dilute the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill were shot down by majorities of up to 82 in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The bill will empower the UK government to override those elements of the protocol that it sees as undermining Northern Ireland’s constitutional position.

One amendment tabled by SDLP leader Colum Eastwood was defeated by a majority of 82 votes while other attempts to weaken the legislation by Labour and Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry were shot down by similarly hefty majorities.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson welcomed the passage of the bill through all its stages in the Commons as “a significant milestone in the journey to remove the long shadow of the Northern Ireland Protocol”.

Sir Jeffrey said the legislation showed the government had recognised that the protocol is harming Northern Ireland.

“Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom needs to be restored and the democratic deficit removed,” he said.

“When the attacks on the process of the bill’s development are stripped away and the details of what is being proposed are examined, what we see is a framework to achieve solutions.

“It is a framework which the minister was able to confirm would impose no hard border on the island of Ireland and would respect the EU’s single market.

“More important however that framework also removes the barriers to trade within the United Kingdom which impact on our constitutional position and violate our rights under Article 6 of the Acts of Union.

“Respecting the right of the UK to regulate our own internal market is key to securing the consensus necessary for progress.”

The DUP leader continued: “Those who criticise the government for taking this legislative approach have offered no solutions beyond sitting back and waiting for the EU to finally accept there are problems and to negotiate a solution. When we hear the protocol cheerleaders talk about negotiating solutions to the problems of the protocol it is more than code for its continuation through EU intransigence.”

Sir Jeffrey said he was “sceptical” about the EU’s willingness to compromise over the NI Protocol in any further negotiations between London and Brussels.

The bill will now be scrutinised next in the House of Lords whose members Sir Jeffrey appealed to last night.

He said: “The House of Lords will have a clear choice to make – protect the Belfast Agreement and restore political consensus in Northern Ireland by backing the bill, or destroy the agreement by undermining the bill. We expect them to make the right choice.”

Criticising the passage of the bill, Mr Eastwood told the Commons: “This bill clearly, blatantly breaks international law that this government made with the European Union” and was a “sop to the DUP”.