Tom Swarbrick says Tory NI protocol row is 'dangerous and embarrassing'
21 February 2023, 21:59 | Updated: 22 February 2023, 14:04
Tom Swarbrick despairs at the Tories now rejecting the same NI protocol they voted for...
Amid pressure for Rishi Sunak to settle the Northern Ireland Protocol bill, Tom Swarbrick shared his thoughts on Conservative MPs coming out against the PM's Brexit plans.
Tom Swarbrick spoke to Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin who said the NI Protocol needed to be completely re-established despite voting for the Brexit deal which secured it back in 2019.
After speaking to the MP, Tom shared his complete despair at the reaction from MPs such as, Sir Jenkin.
Letting out a large sigh, Tom said: "I mean, what to say, what to say? Ministers willing to resign from the government if a Brexit deal risks Northern Ireland's place within the UK.
"The same people who voted for the deal in 2019, as Sir Bernard Jenkin described - because he voted for it to - as a car crash, precisely because it risked Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom."
READ MORE: Andrew Marr: Solving Northern Ireland protocol is the 'biggest political challenge Sunak faces'
Tom Swarbrick puts Tory MP, Sir Bernard Jenkin, on the spot over his stance on the NI protocol.
"How many times did people say that to the ERG? And those saying that [Theresa] May's deal was all far too close, all far too 'EUie'?" Tom asked in astonishment.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak warned by Boris Johnson that dropping NI Protocol Bill would be 'great mistake'
"They're now looking to either reject [it] or find a way of backing up a deal that would move the UK closer to the EU in various regards."
He concluded: "It's not even frustrating, it's embarrassing, it's absurd. It's dangerous is what it is."
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