Northern Ireland Secretary admits new bill will 'break international law'

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

A government minister has said a new bill to amend the UK's Brexit deal with the EU will "break international law".
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Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis conceded it would go against the treaty in a "specific and limited way".

Former PM Theresa May warned the change could damage "trust" in the UK over future trade deals with other states.
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"How can the government reassure future international partners that the UK can be trusted to abide by the legal obligations of the agreements it signs?"


Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54073836

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When your predecessor in your own party is saying "how can you be trusted?", you're in deep shit. See also:

Top UK government lawyer quits over Brexit withdrawal agreement changes

The head of the UK government’s legal department has quit over Boris Johnson’s proposal to row back on parts of last year’s Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland.

Jonathan Jones is the sixth senior Whitehall official to resign this year, amid growing tensions between the prime minister and staff at the top of the civil service.
...
Two officials with knowledge of the situation told the Financial Times that the Treasury solicitor and permanent secretary of the Government Legal Department was leaving his position due to a dispute with Downing Street over its plans to challenge parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Those close to Sir Jonathan said he was “very unhappy” about the decision to overwrite parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, part of the 2019 withdrawal agreement, with new powers in the UK internal market bill.

https://www.ft.com/content/6186bf1c-055b-4de6-a643-4eea763e1b94