No 10 ‘acting like North Korea’ to fast-track Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal
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Downing Street has been accused of rigging Parliament to drive through Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal after five Tories who threatened to vote against it were “purged” from a committee.
However, all of them were unceremoniously dumped just hours before it was due to meet after expressing concerns to the whips about the changes.
The Government parachuted in last-minute replacements including Bim Afolami, Nickie Aiken, Siobhan Baillie and Amanda Milling, who all voted Remain.
He described the decision as an “outrage” and added: “I was asked whether I’d like to be replaced? I said ‘no’. I was asked whether I’d like to take the week off? I said ‘no’.
“I then found it this morning that I was replaced because they thought it might go on as far as 90 minutes and that might be inconvenient for me.”
“This is manipulating the Parliamentary process because the Windsor Framework is such a failure the whips have to rig committees to get it through,” he said.
“It is the Government trying to get rid of people that they thought might have the moral courage to vote the wrong way. It’s bent, that’s what they’ve done.”
He added: “One could only conclude that the actions the Government have taken would make the North Korean leader blush as to the lack of democratic process.”
Sir Bill Cash, a veteran Eurosceptic of 40 years, said he “deeply resented” the decision, adding: “I’ve never seen anything like it and I think it’s outrageous.”
Ministers are trying to write the key parts of the agreement, which replaced the controversial Protocol, into UK law through a series of Statutory Instruments (SIs).
SIs are used to pass uncontroversial updates to existing legislation without taking up Parliamentary time with a debate and vote of the whole House.
Checks on parcels were supposed to be introduced under the original Protocol deal but never came into force, and in September 2021 ministers announced they were being suspended indefinitely.
Business leaders have warned the new Windsor Framework rules will wrap businesses and delivery firms up in red tape, increasing cost and reducing choice for people in Northern Ireland.
The Road Haulage Association said they will result in the province being treated “as if it’s a foreign country” and “splits the UK into two distinct and separate areas”.
“The impact of these proposed regulations is to add additional obstacles, bureaucracy, and costs to the movement of everyday goods that consumers and businesses depend upon with the result that it restricts trade, increases costs and results in trade divergence,” it said.
“This… certainly restricts and hinders trade between GB and NI and will result in trade diversion and reduced market access for NI consumers and businesses.”
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