Jonathan Powell, 65, blasted Boris Johnson, 57, over the Brexit negotiations with the Brussels bloc, and accused the Prime Minister of putting ideological issues above the interests of people. From 1995 to 2007 he served as the chief of staff to the ex-Labour leader and prime minister Tony Blair, 68, as UK's Government chief negotiator on Northern Ireland during the Ulster peace process.
Speaking about the current Brexit negotiations, he warned those in Government did not understand the fragility of the Good Friday Agreement and suggested that their actions could jeopardise all the work put into the 1998 peace deal. He said that the casual political vandalism is what worries me the most. They don't seem to care. I mean the damage that they are doing to the very fragile political settlements in Northern Ireland, by posturing on things like the European Court of Justice, which do not matter to voters in Northern Ireland. Powell questioned why the role of judges from the European Court of Justice in Ulster was a red line in the talks. He said that they may matter to Boris Johnson and some supporters in the Government and the ideological base but is it worth it to sacrifice all the work that previous generations of politicians put into the Northern Ireland peace process on the ideological altar of the ECJ? JUST IN: Brexit Britain victory! UK wins mega-trade surge with key partner as 8.4 TN prize nears.
Lord David Frost, 56, had been in charge of UK negotiations until he resigned from government last month over Covid regulations and tax policy. The former ambassador and CEO of the Scotch Whiskey Association repeatedly threatened to suspend parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol under Article 16. Lord Frost was replaced by the 46-year-old Remainer-turned-Brexit Secretary, Liz Truss. Ms Truss is thought to be a continuity negotiator. She stressed before Christmas that the UK position has not changed. We need goods to flow freely between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, end the role of the ECJ as the final arbiter of disputes between us, and resolve other issues. The departure from the EU had caused problems on the island of Ireland, but Powell said he doesn't expect a return to the Troubles. He said that people have to be hurt in the event of the Brexit. There is nothing you can do about the political issue of identity, given the history of two communities in Northern Ireland. There is going to be a border because of the Brexit and it has to be somewhere. No one has come up with a better idea than in the Irish Sea. If it is there, it affects the Unionist identity and what you have to do to reduce the impact of it.