Boris Johnson said he'd never agree to an Irish Sea border only to agree to one but to deny its existence. He now acknowledges there is one but says there mustn't be one.
Quote:
U-turn by Boris Johnson as he moves from denying Irish Sea border’s reality to attempting to delay some of its checks
After weeks of denial that an Irish Sea border exists, Boris Johnson’s government has U-turned to ask for major parts of the trade frontier to be delayed for years.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove yesterday asked the EU to extend grace periods for supermarkets and other food outlets as well as parcels and medicines until 2023 – effectively putting off key elements of the new border which the EU argued was imperative to protect the integrity of its single market.
Mr Gove also asked the EU to reverse parts of the deal already in place by creating a common travel area across the British Isles for pets and by ending the ban on British soil coming to Northern Ireland, something which has led to GB companies finding their trade in plants with Northern Ireland is now illegal.
The move represents a major change in stance from a government whose Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis, has consistently insisted that there is no Irish Sea border and has played down the significance of the mass of new red tape now necessary to move an item from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
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