(A new format for) Brexit in the news, 09/09/2020.

When I started doing this just a week or so ago, I was wondering why there wasn’t more news about Brexit happening. As they say, be careful what you wish for.

It’s pretty dull just hoovering up links to the latest Brexit stories in the press, so instead of that, I’m going to try a slightly different format and mention the stories that have caught my eye, then provide some links to them.

Government says it will break the law in a “specific and limited” way.

Well, more details are due later today with the detailed working of the bill, but the major news yesterday was the Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis, admitting the Internal Market Bill will break the law in a “specific and limited way.”

Many have already pointed out that any transgression of the laws is “specific and limited,” but yet more have asked who will trust a country, and strike trade deals with a country, that breaks international agreements? The decision was also condemned by the former Prime Minister, Theresa May.

As a direct result, the leading legal civil servant, Sir Jonathan Jones, resigned.

This plan is supposedly to deal with being able to move goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and it has been noted that it also risks breaking the Good Friday Agreement which has lead to peace in Ireland. That has attracted attention from the USA.

Given how rarely the front bench answers questions directly, I wonder why they didn’t choose to evade this one?

14:00: The bill is now out, and indeed it says “notwithstanding inconsistency or incompatibility with international or other domestic law”.

https://twitter.com/davidallengreen/status/1303669460260327429

As the afternoon wears on, Number 10 is apparently claiming that the Withdrawal Agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol were developed “at pace”.

NEW: No10 says the Brexit deal was signed in a rush:

"The withdrawal agreement and Northern Ireland protocol aren’t like any other treaty. It was agreed at pace at the most challenging political circumstances to deliver on a clear political decision of the British people."

— Sebastian Payne (@SebastianEPayne) September 9, 2020

So that’s OK then.

In addition to Theresa May, another former Prime Minister has stepped into the discussion.

1 of 2/

Word in from a despairing John Major :

“For generations, Britain’s word – solemnly given – has been accepted by friend and foe.  Our signature on any Treaty or Agreement has been sacrosanct. ….

— Tom Clark (@prospect_clark) September 9, 2020

• UK plan to break law over Brexit deal prompts exasperation at home and abroad.
• EU calls urgent Joint Committee meeting over UK plan to break Brexit deal.
• Plan for post-Brexit UK internal market bill ‘is an abomination’.
• Brexit bill criticised as ‘eye-watering’ breach of international law.
• Brexit: Boris Johnson has undermined trust in UK government, says EU.