The Northern Ireland Protocol

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:39 pm on 18 May 2022.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 3:39, 18 May 2022

Counsel General, the announcement by the UK Foreign Secretary raises clear concerns on the flow of goods between Great Britain and the island of Ireland for our west-facing ports, particularly for Holyhead, and for Welsh businesses more widely. And we ignore at our peril the paramount importance of safeguarding and protecting the Good Friday agreement. We note the will of the UK Government to unilaterally rewrite the Northern Ireland protocol. It's a binding international agreement, which they negotiated themselves, they agreed themselves, they sold to the UK Parliament and to the British public as part of the great oven-ready deal, and they also guaranteed no checks between Northern Ireland and the UK at the same time. And of course the undoing of the protocol undermines the reputation of the UK as a trusted international partner. So, Counsel General, was the Welsh Government party to any discussions on the UK Government's announcement to rewrite the Northern Ireland protocol? And, bearing in mind the importance of this directly for Wales as well as for the UK as a whole, has the UK Government agreed with the request from the First Minister to discuss this urgently at a meeting of the inter-ministerial group on UK-EU relations?