Member

Northern Ireland is subject to the same directives and rules because of the Windsor Framework. The Government are proceeding in a way that leaves this policy open to challenge in EU legal mechanisms and potentially, of course, financial penalties—although I would hope we would never actually pay them. They are proceeding in a way that leaves Northern Ireland in a suspended state of uncertainty. Retailers, traders and shopkeepers will pay the price, and those who thrive on the illicit trade—the black marketeers, the criminal gangs and those who exploit smuggling routes—will benefit.