Boris Johnson insisted a plan to effectively override parts of the Brexit deal with Brussels was “not a big deal” as he was warned the move would “deeply damage” relations with the European Union and Ireland.
The legislation to amend the protocol unilaterally will be introduced in Parliament on Monday amid controversy over whether the legislation will break international law.
“What it does is create unnecessary barriers on east-west trade – what we can do is fix that. It’s not a big deal,” the prime minister said on a visit to Cornwall.
Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said the plan would “ratchet up” tension and breach the UK's international commitments and that the charges marked a particular “low point” in Brexit talks.
But Mr Johnson insisted the legislation would introduce “relatively simple” bureaucratic changes and warned it would be a “gross overreaction” if Brussels sought to retaliate by triggering a trade war.
