Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Defence John Brady TD has expressed his concern over the incoherent approach of Boris Johnson’s government as the eighth round of Brexit talks gets underway. 

The Wicklow TD said:

“We are at a point in the negotiations where we find ourselves amidst a cacophony of contradictory messaging from the British government.

“The British threat to circumvent the Irish Protocol, which was put in place to prevent the re-introduction of a hard border in Ireland has the potential to deal a devastating blow to the Irish economy and displays a blatant disregard for the Good Friday Agreement.

“We don’t know if the British are serious or grandstanding. While the British have repeatedly expressed their wish to reach an agreement, they have consistently dragged their feet on negotiations. Leading to the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier to recently bemoan the lack of progress and lost opportunities over the summer.

“Now following on from media reports last night we have the scenario that the British are threatening to reinvent a whole new set of rules that disregard the withdrawal agreement. 

“The most worrying development appears to be the emergence of a viewpoint within elements of the Tory party which remain in blissful ignorance of the economic and social implications of a no deal Brexit, but who instead maintain a myopic and obsessive preoccupation with the spectacle of British sovereignty.

Teachta Brady concluded:

“The British government is playing a dangerous game. The priority for all involved must be the continued safe guarding of the Peace Process, the Good Friday Agreement and the economy across the Island of Ireland.

“To date the EU has been consistent in its approach to negotiations. It must continue to do so. It must continue to protect the protocol. It must work to protect the Irish economy across the whole of the Island of Ireland. It must hold the British to its responsibility to abide by its commitment to an internationally binding agreement.”