Brandon Lewis can't give date for Northern Ireland Protocol legislation being moved forward

Brandon Lewis has said he cannot confirm the date the government will progress legislation on reforming the Northern Ireland Protocol.The Northern Ireland secretary was answering a question in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon from Jim Shannon MP.

The Strangford MP asked the government to announce the date that Protocol legislation will move forward. Mr Lewis said the government was committed to restoring the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement by resolving the protocol row. He also reiterated the government's view that Stormont should be restored as soon as possible.

During Northern Ireland questions MPs clashed with one another and the secretary of state over the protocol row.DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP asked if Mr Lewis agreed that the EU was seeking to "punish" Northern Ireland with its stance on the protocol.

Mr Lewis said "there cannot be a hard border on the island of Ireland".

He added that he recognised the EU's interest in protecting the single market but that the UK government would protect the UK's internal market.

In a follow-up question, Sir Jeffrey indicated that the Alliance and SDLP MPs sat behind him wished for a system of "majority rule" that undermines the "consensus" required to operate the Good Friday institutions. Mr Lewis responded that the EU's stance on the protocol was undermining the Good Friday Agreement.South Belfast MP Claire Hanna accused the government of engaging in a "demolition derby" on the "core values" of the Good Friday Agreement by threatening to repeal the Human Rights Act. In response, Mr Lewis said that the Good Friday Agreement would be best protected by MPs voting for the government's bill on reforming the NI protocol.

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