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UK set to break international law – Sinn Fein chief — Analysis

Mary Lou McDonald said London’s plans to change the Northern Ireland Protocol will have very serious implications

Mary Lou McDonald (leader of Sinn Fein), said that the UK could violate international law by unilaterally changing the post-Brexit northern Ireland protocol.

“What the Tory government is proposing to do, in breach of international law, is to create huge damage to the northern economy, to the Irish economy,”Sky News spoke to McDonalds Sunday.

Further, she stated that this move would weaken the Good Friday Agreement (a 1998 peace agreement that had ended violence in Northern Ireland).

Back in May, Sinn Fein secured the most seats in Northern Ireland’s assembly elections. The result was its best ever performance in Northern Ireland’s 100-year history and marked the first time an Irish nationalist party had become the largest in the territory’s assembly.

On Wednesday, Micheal Martin, the Irish Prime Minister, spoke in a similar manner about plans to modify the protocol. He stated that it would be a mark of respect. “a historic low point.”

Victorious nationalists call for 'debate' on Irish unity

The 2019 negotiations for wider post-Brexit trade relations saw the signing of the Northern Ireland Protocol by the UK and the EU.

This agreement prevented a hard line between Northern Ireland’s Republic of Ireland and a EU member. It provided inspections and controls for goods being transported between Northern Ireland (and the rest of Britain) and it also included checks.

Now, the UK believes that protocol is causing trade disruptions in its own domestic market. Conor Burns, Northern Ireland’s Minister of State, stated this week that checks were becoming “unfair”. “ridiculously excessive.”The Parliament will hear legislation that would disable certain parts of this protocol on Monday.

State Secretary for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis defended the government’s plans in an interview on Sky News on Sunday. “What we’re going to do is lawful and is correct,”He stated. “The government lawyers were very clear. We are working within the law.”

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