As Boris Johnson looks to shore up support among Conservative MPs, it has been revealed that Tory Brexiteers assisted in the drafting of new legislation to overrule Brexit regulations for Northern Ireland.
The Prime Minister is due to propose new legislation next week that will put major aspects of the Northern Ireland Protocol on hold.
The move comes after Mr Johnson repeatedly told the EU that if negotiations on border problems with Brussels stall, he will take unilateral action.
The PM’s dual-track strategy to the Protocol debate has already enraged Brussels, with the PM staying open to additional negotiations with the EU while simultaneously pushing through legislation at Westminster as an alternate path to reform.
Mr Johnson is also attempting to shore up his position in No10 by balancing tensions within the Conservative Party over the pending legislation – between Tory Brexiteers and the Remainer wing.
After the PM survived Monday’s confidence vote among Tory MPs, but also took a beating from rebels, a Whitehall source told The Times that the intended law had undergone “extensive drafting and redrafting.”
Mr Johnson and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss met with Sir Bill Cash, a representative of the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory Brexiteers, in private on Tuesday night, according to the newspaper.
This was before the idea was approved by a Cabinet committee the day before yesterday.
Senior ministers are claimed to have objected to some of the changes demanded by the ERG and the bill was sent back to the Foreign Office for further redrafting.
The DUP are also said to have been consulted on the legislation, although Mr Johnson is reported to have told his ministers the Northern Ireland party must not be allowed to be ‘driving Government policy’.
A source close to Ms Truss played down reports she had been keen on tougher legislation, insisting the bill would be ‘as advertised’ in the Foreign Sercretary’s statement to MPs last month.
‘She’s focused on practical solutions to uphold the Good Friday Agreement,’ the source told MailOnline.
The Financial Times reported both Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove expressed concerns that the legislation could see fresh accusations that the UK is seeking to breach international law.
A number of Tory MPs from the party’s ‘One Nation’ wing have previously urged Mr Johnson to pursue further negotiations with Brussels.
They have also warned the Government would trash Britain’s international reputation by unilaterally tearing up the Protocol.
The newspaper quoted a Tory official as saying it was ‘absolute madness’ to be ‘poking the bear’ of party tensions over Brexit, as the PM looks to move past the open warfare over his leadership.
Concerns among some Conservative MPs will have been raised after it was claimed Sir James Eadie, the First Treasury Counsel, was not directly consulted on whether the forthcoming legislation would breach international law.
According to Sky News, Sir James – who is the Government’s independent barrister – said he was ‘not asked to opine on the merits’ of the arguments.
However it was reported Sir James sided with one particular lawyer who said it would be ‘very difficult’ for the UK to argue it is not ‘breaching international law’.
Foreign Office minister James Cleverly today dismissed suggestions the legislation on the Protocol would be illegal.
He told the Commons: ‘The Government is confident that our actions are lawful under international law and in line with longstanding convention that we do not set out internal legal deliberations.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was due to meet with Irish President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Micheal Martin in Dublin today.
He will also visit Belfast as part of his trip to meet political leaders at Stormont.
Addressing business leaders on Wednesday evening, Sir Keir said: ‘Now is not a time for games, but for practical solutions, based on trust.
‘And because this is how business operates, it is vital that you are round the table, and your voice is heard.’