Spread the Message: UK Gov't Doesn't Keep Its Word & Agreements, Irish Deputy PM Says
© AP Photo / Niall Carson
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Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has issued a warning to all world leaders, suggesting that Downing Street cannot be trusted on its promises and deals.
Leo Varadkar, who negotiated the Northern Ireland protocol (NI) with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in October 2019, has reacted to the comments by Johnson's former aide, Dominic Cummings.
Cummings most recently posted a series of tweets on his page, suggesting that the government had planned from the start to "ditch" the NI protocol. The UK government singed the flawed Brexit deal to gain political leverage and “whack [Jeremy] Corbyn,” said Cummings.
"Should we generally stick to deals? Of course. Sometimes break them? Of course. Just like the EU, US, China and every other state does. International diplomacy cannot be judged by the standards of a student duel, and lawyers are hired help not the masters," Cummings tweeted.
For all the cant about international law, a/ states break it every week, b/ the idea it's the epitome of morality is low grade student politics pushed by lawyers/officials to constrain politics they oppose. Govt shd focus on solving problems & chill viz "i/n law" viz NI #IMBill2
— Dominic Cummings (@Dominic2306) October 12, 2021
No what Ive said does NOT mean 'the PM was lying in GE2019', he never had a scoobydoo what the deal he signed meant. He never understood what leaving Customs Union meant until 11/20. In 1/20 he was babbling 'Id never have signed it if Id understood it' (but that WAS a lie)
— Dominic Cummings (@Dominic2306) October 12, 2021
Reacting to Cummings' comments, Varadkar called them "alarming" in an interview to RTE Morning Ireland, adding that if true, they would indicate that Downing Street "acted in bad faith".
Varadkar believes that this message needs to be "heard around the world".
"If the British Government doesn't honour its agreements, it doesn't adhere to treaties it signs, that must apply to everyone else too. At the moment they're going around the world, they're trying to negotiate new trade agreements... Surely the message must go out to all countries around the world that this is a British Government that doesn't necessarily keep its word and doesn't necessarily honour the agreements it makes. And you shouldn't make any agreements with them until such time as you're confident that they keep their promises, and honour things, for example, like the protocol."
Varadkar's comments come ahead of the G20 Summit in Rome end of October, with Britain eyeing new trade deals and partnerships with EU members.
Adherence to the NI protocol has been cause of political and trade tensions between London and Brussels, as they interpret its implementation slightly differently.
While the UK says that the protocol is a compromise on its part, it wants to remove customs checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A new system, proposed by Britain, would see goods circulating freely in Northern Ireland if they conform to either EU or UK regulations.
Johnson's government also wants to remove the role the European Commission and the European Court of Justice have in overseeing how the protocol works.
Meanwhile, the EU have ruled out a renegotiation of document but signalled it is ready for creative solutions. Brussels proposed to scrap many existing checks on goods and ease customs controls, relating to products like meat, among others.
The NI Protocol is a document that governs the customs and immigration issues on the border in the island of Ireland after Brexit.
The border checks imposed on the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland stand in the way of British food staples such as sausages from entering the "southern" part of the island.
