Facts4EU.Org presents documented evidence of an international scandal
Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2022
Is the PM’s New Year’s resolution to resolve the NI issue and reunite the United Kingdom?
And with the US President slated to visit in March, does anyone care if he cancels?
The latest comments out of the White House suggest that US President Joe Biden will not visit the UK and the Republic of Ireland unless the current difficulties over the N.I. Protocol are sorted out.
Just before Christmas, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak put in a call to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at which the Protocol was discussed.
Given that the mood music coming out of No.10 reeks of the compromise and weakness of the Theresa May years, Facts4EU.Org felt that both No.10 and the White House should read an excerpt from the second-most popular report we published in 2022.
We hope this will inform the badly-informed US President, as well as stiffening the sinews of the PM and his Cabinet in talks with the EU.
How the EU and the Republic of Ireland conspired to break up the United Kingdom
The basic facts
In 2017, committees of the Dáil Éireann and the House of Commons were told by the heads of their respective Customs authorities that no border infrastructure would be necessary as a result of Brexit – even in the event of a worst-case ‘no-deal Brexit’. In 2018 the committee of the EU parliament was told the same thing by the expert they commissioned to produce a report.
The story never told by the BBC
Five years ago Facts4EU.Org published the testimony of the heads of the Irish Revenue and HMRC, followed up by the testimony of the EU parliament’s expert.
All of them made it clear there was no need for a “Northern Ireland Protocol”.
The EU then conspired with the government of Leo Varadkar to prevent the customs services of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom from talking to each other.
Today, together with CIBUK.Org – of which Facts4EU.Org is an affiliate member – we are placing the facts on record once again.
The testimonies
Facts4EU.Org has chapter and verse of the testimonies of the key parties involved in ensuring trade would continue normally across the North-South border in Ireland following Brexit.
Below we present some key extracts which make it clear that there was never any need for an N.I. Protocol and that Mr Varadkar’s government and the EU Commission did what they did in order to divide the United Kingdom – for their own political ends.
Back in 2017, testimony to the parliaments was given on the basis that the entire UK (including Northern Ireland) would be OUT of the Single Market, and OUT of the Customs Union. In other words, with no Protocol and what was deemed “the worst case”.
Ian Paisley MP of the DUP commented exclusively to Facts4EU and CIBUK on our report
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Ian Paisley MP, Fri 29 Dec 2022
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
Damning evidence against the EU and Irish government over the N.I. Protocol
1. What HMRC said about there being no need for a Protocol
Q: “In the event of no deal, would it be possible to achieve no border infrastructure?”
Sir Jon Thompson, CEO of HMRC, 2017 : “We do not believe we require any infrastructure between Northern Ireland and Ireland under any circumstances.”
2. On the EU preventing the UK and Irish Customs organisations from implementing solutions
Q: “Have you had any dealings with the Irish about this?”
Sir Jon Thompson, Head of HMRC: “There are no formal conversations with either the French or the Irish. We cannot talk to Customs or taxation management organisations in either of those countries. There are only informal conversations with the Belgians and the Dutch.”
3. What the Irish Revenue said about there being no need for a Protocol
Liam Irwin (Irish Revenue Commissioner):
“We are planning for trade facilitation, enabling goods to move. We have absolutely no plans for anything along the Border at this stage.”
Q: “Revenue has identified several locations where customs posts could be erected in——”
Mr Liam Irwin (Irish Customs): “That is not true.”
Q: “That is not true?”
Mr Liam Irwin (Irish Customs): “That is not true.”
4. On the EU preventing the UK and Irish Customs organisations from implementing solutions
Q: “Could Mr. Cody clarify whether there is a legal impediment to negotiations between us and—–”
Mr Niall Cody (Irish Customs): “Yes.”
Q: “—–so we can have discussions but not negotiations?”
Mr Niall Cody (Irish Customs): “The European Union will be negotiating with the United Kingdom in regard to Brexit.”
5. What the EU Parliament’s independent expert said about there being no need for a Protocol
Lars Karlsson, author of the EU parliament’s ‘Brexit Border/Customs Report’ and the EU parliament’s chosen expert, former Director of the World Customs Organization, speaking to the Exiting The EU Committee in Mar 2018:
“There would not need to be any necessary infrastructure and not need to be either CCTV cameras or number plate readers.”
Question: “But the technology proposed in this report is untested, that’s correct isn’t it?” asked Joanna Cherry MP (SNP). “The proposal you’ve put here hasn’t actually been tested at any location anywhere in the world.”
Karlsson: “No that’s not correct. It actually has.”
Observations
Our evidence above makes it clear. This is an international scandal.
The heads of both the UK’s and the Republic of Ireland’s Customs bodies were adamant that no hard border would be required between Northern Ireland and the Republic as a result of Brexit. It could all be taken care of between them.
The independent expert commissioned by the EU Parliament came up with the same conclusion.
Despite this expert testimony, the EU Commission and the Irish government of Leo Varadkar stepped in. They stopped the dialogue between the two professional bodies, and then politicised and weaponised the hard-won peace process which had resulted in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
[More to come, depending on quotes.]
We must get reports like this out there – to MPs and to Washington
Reports like the one above take far longer to research, write and produce than many people realise. If they were easy, readers would see other organisations also producing these daily.
However, there’s little point in the Facts4EU.Org team working long hours, seven days-a-week, if we lack the resources to promote them effectively – to the public, to MPs, and to the media. This is where you come in, dear reader.
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[ Sources: UK Parliament | Irish parliament | EU Commission | EU Parliament ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thurs 29 Dec 2022
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