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A British official will be sent to the US in a bid to forge stronger links with President Joe Biden’s new administration amid a deepening row between the UK and the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol.
The senior official from the Northern Ireland Office has been tasked with building alliances with Irish American lawmakers specifically, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Mr Biden and his allies have previously expressed concern over Northern Ireland’s future post-Brexit, warning the US would not accept a “guarded border” on the island of Ireland and that the Good Friday peace deal must be protected.
The announcement that the official would be sent across the pond came after Irish minister for foreign affairs Simon Coveney and EU Commission chief Maroš Šefčovič briefed the influential bipartisan Friends of Ireland caucus on Capitol Hill on the UK’s unilateral action to extend protocol grace periods last week.
The Friends of Ireland caucus is chaired by the Massachusetts Democrat Richard Neal, who also chairs Congress’s Ways and Means committee, which has power over the US’s trade deals with foreign countries.
Meanwhile, the EU has refused to back down on its threat to take legal action against the UK over its move on the protocol. Joao Vale de Almeida, the EU’s ambassador to the UK, told ITV’s Peston programme last night the bloc would “move forward” in the coming days.
ICYMI: Of course the UK media has a problem with racism – any other suggestion is propaganda
“Of course the UK media industry is racist,” writes race correspondent Nadine White. “This is well established and yet those of us who are cognisant of the problem were gaslighted this week by the Society of Editors, one of the most powerful organisations in the industry.”
Matt Mathers11 March 2021 09:20
Government coaching Serco on how to win honours for running test-and-trace programme
The government is giving private contractors profiting from the beleaguered test-and-trace programme and other areas of the pandemic tailored advice on how to win honours.
Serco, Capita, Deloitte, and Amazon are amongst firms that have been written to by civil servants urging them to apply for gongs like knighthoods and MBEs.
Sarah Munby, the permanent secretary at the government’s business department, wrote to the companies asking them “to submit honours nominations” on behalf of their organisations.
Policy correspondent Jon Stone has more details:
Matt Mathers11 March 2021 09:05
EU could initiate legal action against UK ‘within days’ over ‘violation’ of agreement
Brussels could initiate legal action against the UK this week over the government’s decision to unilaterally extend the grace period for fully implementing the Brexit agreement.
The action comes after Marcos Sefcovic, the vice president of the European Commission, said the UK’s move would be a “violation” of the Northern Ireland Protocol and he threatened to respond to the developments with “legal means”.
Politics correspondent Ashley Cowburn has the full story:
Matt Mathers11 March 2021 08:52
EU refuses to back down on legal threat
The EU is refusing to back down on its threat to launch legal proceedings against the UK after it unilaterally extended grace periods in Northern Ireland.
Joao Vale de Almeida, the EU’s ambassador to the UK, told ITV’s Peston programme last night the bloc would “move forward” in the coming days.
Matt Mathers11 March 2021 08:43
British official set for move to Washington amid UK-EU protocol row
A senior official from the Northern Ireland office is being sent to the US in a bid to win support from the Biden administration amid a deepening row between the UK and the EK over the protocol.
Reports say the official will be tasked with forging stronger links with Irish Americans in particular, who have previously expressed concerns about the Good Friday peace deal post-Brexit.
President Biden has previously warned the UK that a breach of the accord could have consequences for any future trade deal between the two countries.
Matt Mathers11 March 2021 08:39
