Sir Jeffrey said,
“I want respectful north-south relations. I want us to work on matters of mutual concern, but the Protocol is the roadblock. It has polluted every part of society. It is costing us £850m per year by placing a border between us and our most important trading partners in the rest of the UK.
Our Ministers have put a stop to the North-South structures because we need to bring the Irish Sea Border to a head. We cannot have a border between us and Great Britain but continue with north-south structures as though there is no problem.
The simple way to resolve this matter is for nationalist and republican Ministers to recognise that the Irish Sea Border is contrary to the Belfast Agreement. Rather than calling for rigorous implementation, SF, SDLP and Alliance Ministers should join us in calling for London and Brussels to remove the Irish Sea Border.
The Protocol has harmed Northern Ireland’s place in the Union, and is driving up consumer costs and driving down consumer choice.”
On Sinn Fein, Sir Jeffrey said,
“It is hypocrisy for SF to complain given they blocked north-south meetings for three years when they collapsed devolution.”
