My question to the Prime Minister earlier on his Brexit proposals for Northern Ireland which run the risk of a return to a hard border.
The PM shakes his head at one point when I mention customs checks in Northern Ireland. This is what he told the BBC two days ago “there will have to be a system for customs checks away from the border.”
In the explanatory note on the Brexit proposals for Northern Ireland, it says that if the Assembly and Executive do not consent to the proposals for a zone of regulatory compliance then arrangements “will default to existing rules.” What existing rules?
The rules that would then exist would mean that the UK, including Northern Ireland, would be outside the single market and the customs union while the Republic of Ireland would be inside. The inevitable consequence would be a hard border.
