‘Dangerous game’ Boris Johnson warned over ‘playing with peace’ in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland: Johnson 'playing a dangerous game' says Bryson

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A leading Northern Irish loyalist activist and anti-Protocol campaigner have warned Boris Johnson against playing a “dangerous game” amid the growing spat between Brussels and London over the implementation of mechanisms agreed under the Brexit deal. Jamie Bryson has exclusively told Express.co.uk that given the bitter divides in Northern Ireland between nationalists and unionists it wouldn’t take much to “spark a conflict-type situation.”

Mr Byrson told Express.co.uk: It is a dangerous game because in some respects [Boris Johnson]’s playing with people’s lives in Northern Ireland.

“Because there is a, a very genuine concern in relation to the stability of peace in Northern Ireland and it’s very, very vulnerable at the moment especially as we head into traditionally the tensest time of the year over the summer.

“It wouldn’t take much to spark a conflict type situation which everybody wants to avoid.

“So Boris Johnson is playing with peace in Northern Ireland, and if he’s genuine and his commitment to protecting peace and restoring political stability to Northern Ireland, then there’s only one way to do that.”

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He continued: “That is to completely remove the Northern Ireland protocol and its entirety because it will never coexist with peace and stability in Northern Ireland.”

It comes as the UK’s former chief Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has spoken out over the European Union’s refusal to negotiate with Boris Johnson over the Northern Ireland protocol.

Lord Frost argued London has been “left no choice” but to rewrite the Protocol or ditch it completely in a conversation with Nigel Farage.

He told the GB News host: “I think it was a deal that could have worked with delicate handling on both sides, sensitivity to the need for cross-community consent in Northern Ireland.

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That was always going to require a degree of sensitivity on the EU side that hasn’t been there.”

He added: “I think much of the EU doesn’t understand the niceties and the details and the history of the issues in Northern Ireland and in the end, I think they prioritise protecting their own single market over the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and that that is the problem.

“Whatever the rights and wrongs of how we got here, the protocol has to change or disappear. I think there’s now no option, much better to do by negotiation if the EU will do it though if we read in the paper they’ve just said that they never will change their negotiating mandate and negotiate with us about it. So I think we’re left with no choice.”

Responding to the remarks by Lord Frost, Mr Bryson told Express.co.uk: “Lord Frost is correct. The time for talking has passed, the Act of Union must be restored and for that to happen the Protocol must be stripped out of domestic law. 

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“Lord Frost is correct. The time for talking has passed, the Act of Union must be restored and for that to happen the Protocol must be stripped out of domestic law. 

“That creates a febrile situation as we head into the marching season. So we need to see decisive meaningful action now.” 

“So we need to see decisive meaningful action now.”

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