Sinn Féin MLA and National Chairperson Declan Kearney has said more incendiary rhetoric from the British government about Brexit and the protocol will continue to deny the certainty and stability which local businesses desperately need. 

The Party’s Brexit spokesperson said: 

“While the Protocol is a consequence of a hard Tory Brexit, it contains essential protections for our economy, and for traders, businesses, manufacturers and farmers. 

“It guarantees dual market access whereby businesses from the north can trade with marketplaces in both the EU and Britain in a way that is unique to the north and has the potential to create unprecedented competitive advantages.

“As the British government prepares to announce its latest proposals on the Protocol, it should reflect that more incendiary rhetoric will not provide the certainty and stability which our business and traders so desperately need. 

“There are outstanding challenges with the Protocol but there is a mechanism in place to deal with these. That is where the British government should put its focus. Sustainable resolutions will not be found by continuing to emphasise narrow, negative ideological priorities. This obsessive approach is destined to create more instability and uncertainty for our businesses. 

“The British government needs to stop sabre rattling and get into resolution finding mode. It is long past time for it to implement the Protocol on the basis already agreed with the European Commission. 

“This is the only way to ensure our businesses will properly avail of the economic special status which the Protocol provides the north, in terms of protecting existing employment, and attracting new job opportunities and foreign investment.”