MICHAEL Gove has warned “no option is off the table” as the UK Government considers ripping up its own Brexit agreement –and says he is “super cool” with threats to renege on the agreement.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is set to tell the EU that the dispute cannot drag on amid dire warnings about the consequences of backing out of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
European leaders are urging Downing Street not to take unilateral action, as ministers consider whether to introduce legislation overriding parts of the deal.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed “no-one should unilaterally cancel, break or in any way attack the settlement”.
Truss is expected to reiterate in a call with European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic on Thursday the risk to the Good Friday Agreement and warn that the situation cannot drag on.
Gove, who previously led talks with Sefcovic, told BBC Breakfast: “No. We are going to negotiate with the EU in order to get the best possible outcome for the people of Northern Ireland, but no option is off the table.”
He insisted Sefcovic and the Foreign Secretary have a “good relationship”, adding: “They will try to make progress tomorrow. I know that both of them are fully committed to making sure we resolve some very difficult issues that have arisen.
“You would expect a UK Government, when it is thinking about the security of the entire United Kingdom, to say that there is no option that is off the table, and that is absolutely right."
"No option is off the table" Michael Gove says Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will meet with the EU tomorrow to try to resolve the "difficult issues" surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol on #BBCBreakfast More: https://t.co/KQ5PVHwEnG pic.twitter.com/zAt1n2yQ5w
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) May 11, 2022
Gove dismissed suggestions he was among Cabinet opponents of tearing up the protocol, which was agreed by Boris Johnson in 2019.
Asked how angry he was on a scale of one to 10, Gove told LBC radio: “Minus five. I’m super cool with it and I’m a big, big Liz Truss fan.”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford accused the UK Government of “effectively threatening a trade war” – and said Gove must do more than “shrug his shoulders”.
He told Sky News: “We've all got memories of the past, the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the peace has been hard won. We need to make sure that the Good Friday Agreement is protected.
“But within all of that, this UK Government signed up to its form of Brexit. The Prime Minister is responsible for that. You cannot tear up an international treaty.”
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On the potential for further trade chaos, Blackford continued: “We have a right bourach in terms of our trading relationships … it’s a mess. It’s a shambles.
“Companies in my constituency, right across Scotland, right across the UK are really struggling. You know, when you talk about the cost of living crisis, we know from the data that food prices are 6% higher as a direct consequence of Brexit.
“So governments cause these problems and it's not good enough for Michael Gove and others just to shrug their shoulders. They have to accept responsibility for the mess that they have created.”
SNP president Michael Russell, responding to Gove, commented: "What should be off the table is the illegal abrogation of a treaty willingly signed (and which Gove voted for in the House of Commons) against the democratically expressed wishes of the people of Northern Ireland. That type of tactic should be off every democratic table."
Officials working for Truss are drawing up draft legislation to unilaterally remove the need for checks on all goods being sent from Britain for use in Northern Ireland.
The PA news agency was told that Truss is poised to take further action in the coming weeks if negotiations with the EU continue to stall.
The proposed law would allow businesses in Northern Ireland to disregard EU rules and regulations and remove the power of the European Court of Justice to rule on issues relating to the region.
Crucially, it would in parts override the protocol agreed by Johnson in 2019 and mean the UK had breached its obligations under the Brexit agreement.
But it was argued the protocol will not be completely overridden, with measures instead being considered to ease the issues on the ground in Northern Ireland.
