Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard has called on the British government to pay the full cost of implementing the Brexit protocol for the north. 

The South Down MP said: 

“The Finance Minister has confirmed to me that the Stormont Executive will require £318m resource costs and £51m capital costs to ensure that government departments are compliant with the legal requirements of the Brexit Protocol. 

“The majority in the north did not want Brexit and should not have to be forced to pay the price for it. 

“The cost of implementing Brexit should be paid for by those who wanted it; the British government. 

“The Finance Minister has informed me that he has asked for this money from the British Treasury and I have written to Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove asking him to commit to providing the necessary funding.

“If the British government wants to impose Brexit on the north then it will have to pay for it.”