Month: June 2022

Brandon Lewis said he was confident the changes would be lawful.

The UK government is due to publish legislation on Monday that would allow ministers to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The protocol keeps Northern Ireland inside the EU’s single market for goods.

It prevents a hard border with the Republic of Ireland but means checks on some goods arriving from other parts of the UK.

Critics of the move, including the Irish government, have said any unilateral action could breach international law.

However Mr Lewis said that when people see the legislation “they’ll see it’s focused on fixing the problems with the implementation of the protocol”.

“Doing so is not only within international law but works for people across the United Kingdom and respects the EU single market,” he told BBC News NI’s Sunday Politics programme.

Earlier, Mr Lewis told the Sunday Morning programme the UK government would also set out its legal position when introducing the legislation.

He said the legal position would “make sure people see it is within international law”.

On Saturday, BBC News NI economic editor John Campbell wrote that representatives from the food industry in Northern Ireland warned that scrapping the protocol could damage businesses.

The Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) told BBC News NI the protocol was working for the majority of its members.

But Mr Lewis said businesses did not want to see “uncertainty and instability” and some industries, including hospitality, had been “consistently clear that parts of the protocol are causing issues”.

He added: “When people see what we’re proposing tomorrow, it is sensible solutions to the very issues that have been detrimental to businesses.”

The trade deal governs how goods enter Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK and was agreed by the UK government and the European Union following the Brexit vote in 2019.

It was designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland when the UK left the European Union.

The protocol led to the creation of new goods checks at Northern Ireland sea ports on some products from Great Britain, effectively creating a new trade border in the Irish Sea.

Unionist parties, including the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), argue that this has led to extra costs and unnecessary delays, as well as undermining the union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

On Sunday, Irish newspaper the Business Post reported that officials from the UK’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have written to agri-food businesses setting out what the changes will mean.

The letter reportedly said ministers would remove all customs processes for goods moving within the United Kingdom and enable the frictionless movement of agri-food goods staying within the UK.

It also indicated that businesses in Northern Ireland could have the ability to choose whether to follow UK or EU regulations, depending on who they are trading with.

When asked on the Sunday Politics programme about the possibility of moving to a dual-regulatory system, Mr Lewis said the UK government wants a system “where products that are moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland to be consumed or used within the UK can do so freely and flexibly”.

“That means giving businesses in Northern Ireland options and the ability to trade both ways as part of the United Kingdom, but have that free ability to trade with the (EU) single market.

“We think we’ve got a proposal that’s very sensible and does that and can give confidence to the EU that there is no risk to the single market.”

Any legislation would have to be approved by Parliament, a process which could take months. The legislation could also face challenges by both rebel MPs from within the Conservative Party – after the recent revolt against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership – and in the House of Lords.

The EU has previously acknowledged issues with the protocols and, last October, put forward its own proposals which it said would cut paperwork and checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

However, the UK rejected these plans saying they would make things worse.

A row over the impact of the protocol has created a block on forming a devolved government in Northern Ireland, with the DUP stopping the assembly from sitting or a new executive being formed since Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party in May’s election.

The DUP, which has the second highest number of Stormont seats, has refused to support the election of a new speaker or first and deputy first minister until there is “action” on the protocol.

Asked whether Monday’s legislation could tempt the party to return to power-sharing, Mr Lewis said he hoped the DUP would see it “resolves the issues they’ve been concerned about”.

“If the DUP are true to what they have said and the reason they withdrew around wanting to see positive progress on fixing the problems of the protocol, this legislation will do that,” he added.

But DUP MP Sammy Wilson said it was too early to make a final judgement on the legislation.

“It was supposed to be published on Thursday, it wasn’t because there were still arguments within the cabinet and the Conservative Party on what should be contained in the legislation,” he said.

“We have seen and have been told bits and pieces of what is there but since it has been a changing feast all week, until we see the final draft, then it’s impossible for me to judge on.”

During the past week, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson defended his party’s saying that “there is not cross-community support for the protocol”.

Sinn Féin has said any move by the UK government to change the protocol would be “unacceptable to the wider public and majority of MLAs (Northern Ireland Assembly members) who support the protocol”.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Sinn Féin leader Mary-Lou McDonald said that the UK legislation would break international law and cause “huge, huge damage” to the Northern Irish and Irish economies.

On Wednesday, the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) said unilateral action on the protocol would mark a “historic low”.

Speaking at the European Parliament, Michéal Martin said it was “perfectly reasonable” to want to make improvements to the protocol but warned that any attempt to do so outside the agreed joint mechanisms would damage the rule of law.

Campaigners and migrants last week failed to win an injunction against the government policy in the High Court.

But it is thought the number facing removal to Rwanda’s capital Kigali on Tuesday has fallen to single figures.

The UK says sending some asylum seekers who arrive illegally to Rwanda will undermine smuggling gangs.

The appeal has been brought by Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), who represent 80% of Border Force staff, along with the charities Care4Calais and Detention Action.

A separate case is also due to be heard in the High Court on Monday, after another refugee charity, Asylum Aid, applied for an urgent interim injunction against the flights to the east African nation.

A Home Office source has told the BBC that of the original 37 people scheduled to fly to Rwanda on Tuesday, individual legal challenges relating to modern slavery and human rights claims have reduced that number to single figures.

BBC home editor Mark Easton says it is expected that could be “whittled down to zero” before the plane is due to take off.

The Rwanda policy has been criticised by charities, religious leaders, opposition parties – and reportedly by the Prince of Wales who is understood to have privately described it as “appalling”.

Rwanda’s high commissioner to the UK Johnston Busingye told the Daily Telegraph his country would be a “safe haven” for migrants.

Home Secretary Priti Patel says the “vast majority” of those who take routes deemed “illegal” – such as unauthorised boats and stowing away in lorries – will be considered for relocation to Rwanda.

But it is understood that those prioritised under the scheme will be adults, with officials insisting families arriving in the UK will not be split up.

As of Friday up to 130 people had been notified they could be removed.

At the High Court on Friday, Mr Justice Swift said there was a “material public interest” in the home secretary being able to carry out her policies. He said he did not consider there was evidence asylum seekers would be ill treated in Rwanda.

He said there would be a full judicial review, where the High Court will hear a challenge to the government’s plan, before the end of July.

Jordan Gatley, who left the British army in March and travelled to Ukraine, was described as “a hero” by his father Dean in a tribute on social media.

He died in the battle for the eastern city of Severodonetsk, which has seen intense fighting in recent days.

The Foreign Office has said it is “supporting the family of a British man who has died in Ukraine”.

Mr Gatley’s father wrote in a Facebook post that his son had been helping train local forces. He added that Jordan was fatally shot on the front line while defending the city and they were informed of his death on Friday.

He had gone to Ukraine to help “after careful consideration”, he said.

According to the Facebook post, the family “had several messages from his team out there telling us of his wealth of knowledge, his skills as a soldier and his love of his job”.

“His team say they all loved him, as did we, and he made a massive difference to many people’s lives, not only soldiering, but also by training the Ukrainian forces,” the statement continued.

“Jordan and his team were so proud of the work they were doing and he often told me that the missions they were going on were dangerous, but necessary.

“He loved his job and we are so proud of him,” Mr Gatley wrote, adding: “He truly was a hero and will forever be in our hearts.”

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, tweeted that Jordan Gatley was a “true hero”.

“We will always remember his contribution to the protection of Ukraine and the free world,” Mr Podolyak wrote.

The BBC understands Mr Gatley served in the British army as a rifleman with the Edinburgh-based third battalion of The Rifles and was discharged from the forces in March before travelling to Ukraine.

There has been fierce street fighting in Severodonetsk with heavy artillery said to be causing huge casualties for both Russian and Ukrainian forces.

The region’s governor Serhiy Haidai has told Ukrainian TV that Russian shelling has caused a huge fire at a chemical plant in the city. Up to 800 civilians are hiding in underground bomb shelters at the plant, Ukrainian officials have estimated.

Fighting around Severodonetsk has lasted for more than three months, as Russia shifted its focus from trying to take the capital Kyiv to capturing the Luhansk and the Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine – a mostly industrial area known as Donbas.

Seizing Severodonetsk and its twin city of Lysychansk would move Russia closer to its goal as it would give them control over Luhansk.

Mr Gatley is the second Briton to be killed in the conflict after the death of Scott Sibley in April.

Mr Sibley was described as a “friend like no other”.

A post on the Logistics Support Squadron Facebook page described him as a “former serving soldier” of the squadron and said he had “showed Commando spirit until the end”.

The Foreign Office advises against all travel to Ukraine and the Ministry of Defence has said that Britons who go to join the fighting following the Russian invasion may be committing a criminal offence and would be liable to prosecution.

In March, the head of the British armed forces said that Britons should not go to Ukraine to fight and should find other ways to help.

The police said the soldiers resorted to “indiscriminate and disproportionate firing” when they shot at miners, mistaking them for militants.

Six miners were killed in the firing last December near the Myanmar border.

The shootings in the Mon district was the deadliest spell of violence in years in Nagaland, which has long been roiled by an insurgency led by local militant groups.

The Indian army has since apologised for the killings and ordered its own investigation.

But protesters in the state have been also pressing for the government to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a controversial federal law that gives the army sweeping powers, including protection from prosecution for soldiers who mistakenly kill civilians.

Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe met his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of an Asian security summit in Singapore.

Splitting Taiwan from China would leave the Chinese military with no choice but to “fight at any cost”, Mr Wei said.

Mr Austin later called Chinese military activity “provocative, destabilising”.

He said there were record numbers of Chinese aircraft flying near the island on a near-daily basis, which “undermine peace and stability in the region”.

China views self-ruled Taiwan as an integral part of China’s territory, a stance that prompted Mr Wei to condemn US arms sales to Taiwan.

A spokesman quoted him as saying: “If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will have no choice but fight at any cost and crush any attempt of ‘Taiwan independence’ and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Mr Austin said the US was committed to maintaining the status quo – recognising Beijing as the sole government of China and opposing Taiwanese independence.

He insisted there must be no attempt to resolve tensions through force.

It was the first meeting of the US and Chinese defence chiefs and lasted nearly an hour, at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit.

Mr Wei said the talks “went smoothly”, and both sides described them as cordial.

Mr Austin spoke of the importance of maintaining fully open lines of communications with China’s military, to avoid any misunderstanding.

In late May Taiwan said it had deployed fighter jets to warn off 30 warplanes sent by China into its air defence zone. The incident marked the biggest Chinese incursion since January.

The incident involved 22 Taiwanese fighters, as well as electronic warfare, early warning and anti-submarine aircraft, Taiwan’s defence ministry said.

Those taking part at the hundreds of marches carried slogans like “I want freedom from getting shot”.

US President Joe Biden backed the protests, calling on Congress to “pass common sense gun safety legislation”.

Despite this the chances of legal change are likely to be quashed by Republicans.

Nineteen children and two adults were killed in the 24 May shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.

That attack, and another days earlier in Buffalo, New York, in which 10 people were killed, has led to renewed calls for action on gun control in the US.

On Saturday, gun safety group March For Our Lives – founded by survivors of the 2018 Parkland school shooting in Florida – said some 450 rallies would be held across the country, including Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

The group said it would not let politicians “sit back” as people continue to die.

March For Our Lives (MFOL) said political leaders’ inaction was killing Americans.

“We will no longer allow you to sit back while people continue to die,” Trevon Bosley, a MFOL board member, said in a statement.

Speaking to protesters in Washington DC, one of the survivors of the Parkland shooting, David Hogg, said the killings of children in Uvalde “should fill us with rage and demands for change, not endless debate, but demands for change, now.”

Garnell Whitfield, whose 86-year-old mother was killed in the racially-motivated shooting in Buffalo, New York on 14 May, told crowds in Washington: “We are here to demand justice.

“We are here to stand with those who are bold enough to demand sensible gun legislation.”

Among other policies, MFOL has called for an assault weapons ban, universal background checks for those trying to purchase guns and a national licensing system, which would register gun owners.

The theme of this rally is: This time it will be different – and that’s what the thousands of protesters here in Washington DC are chanting.

Teenagers Calvin Chrisfield and Ani Arzoumanian have travelled from Maryland. They tell me that members of their school sports teams have had to take shelter from gun attacks while at games. They are more hopeful than optimistic about change, but say addressing gun violence is the “biggest push” of their generation “because we’re the ones dying”.

Hafiza Kazi is holding a sign that says: “My Muslim uncle gets more background checks than a gun.”

She was born on the day of the mass shooting at Columbine high school. Her friend Annie DiGuglielmo believes there is new momentum now: She says she’s seen some Republicans who’ve previously been against gun control change their mind.

And Lindsey Erin is a primary school teacher who is adamant that teachers should not be armed, as advocated by some Republicans.

“Children hug you, they grab things on your shirt… it’s a recipe for absolute disaster.”

The first MFOL protest was held days after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, in which 14 students and three adults were killed. Organisers say it was the largest gun safety rally in one day in US history, and thousands of students across the country left their classrooms to join the demonstrations.

President Biden, a Democrat who this month urged Congress to ban assault weapons, expand background checks and implement other gun control measures, said he supported Saturday’s protests.

“Today, young people around the country once again march with @AMarch4OurLives to call on Congress to pass common sense gun safety legislation, supported by the majority of Americans and gun owners,” he tweeted.

“I join them by repeating my call to Congress: do something.”

In recent weeks, a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators have vowed to hammer out a gun control deal, though they have yet to reach an agreement.

Their effort is focused on relatively modest changes, such as incentivising states to pass “red flag” laws that allow authorities to keep guns from individuals deemed a danger to others.

This week the US House of Representatives voted through a series of measures regulating the sale of guns.

But Republican opposition in the Senate means the bill has little chance of entering law.

Petrol prices hit record highs last week, with the cost of filling a typical family car passing £100.

Forecourt Eye, which works with 1,000 garages in the UK, said there was a 39% increase in non-payments since January.

These included motorists driving off without paying or claiming to have forgotten their wallet.

Nick Fisher, CEO of the digital debt recovery company that traces and track non-payers, said: “This is not a good thing for anyone as more theft is going on.”

He said forecourt theft had been rising month on month since Christmas, with a 19.5% spike in January and February, which he linked to the rising cost of fuel.

This was followed by another rise of 4.5% in March, 8% in April and a further 7% in May.

The soaring price of fuel is down to supply issues caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a weak exchange rate between the US dollar and the UK’s sterling.

Mr Fisher said: “At the moment, we’re seeing a spike of people claiming to forget their wallets. Some people are trying to get away with it.

“Then there are people who fill up, they go buy a coffee and don’t pay for the fuel. And then there’s the others who put in £30 [of fuel] and just drive off.”

The British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) is a non-profit organisation that campaigns to reduce fuel crime on UK forecourts.

It said that in the first week of June, incidents of unpaid fuel increased by 22% compared to May.

Claire Nichol, its executive director, said there is “no doubt” that there is a link between rising fuel prices and increased incidents of forecourt fuel crime.

“Motorists claiming to have no means of payment account for 70% of incidents which re-emphasises a shift away from drive-off incidents,” she added.

The AA’s Luke Bosdet said some people are stealing fuel out of desperation while others are organised and doing it to profit.

He explained: “The thief is someone who relies on their car, motorbike or scooter to get to or go about their work but their finances have been broken by the cost of living crisis. Stealing fuel then becomes an act of desperation.

“And then you have the organised thieves who see the high price of an essential item as highly lucrative and easily sold on.

“They will have their preferred method of stealing the fuel, whether that’s putting an extra tank on the back seat and then taking the fuel from forecourts, or taking jerry cans and cutting fuel lines on cars to drain tanks in the street.

The latter will know which cars are easiest to steal from and target those.”