Brexit Britain still stuck in EU’s ‘moon orbit’, says Ben Habib
And the couple also warned the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen that the bloc will inevitably lose if Eurocrats are “foolish enough” to trade war with Great Britain. The protocol is a huge point of contention between the UK and the EU.
Intended to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, critics in the Unionist community argue that it has instead created a border along the Irish Sea, effectively driving a wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the country. UK.
Former Brexit Party MEP, Mr Habib and Baroness Hoey – formerly Labor MP Kate Hoey – have been instrumental in launching a judicial review they hope the protocol will be illegal.
In an op-ed in The Sunday Telegraph, they wrote: “Let’s start by accepting the truth – Parliament did not vote to divide the UK, so the existence of the protocol is illegal.
Ursula von der Leyen and Tory leadership contender Liz Truss (Image: GETTY)
Ben Habib and Kate Hoey are both involved in the Judicial Review case (Image: GETTY)
“The government should rightly admit the judicial review we filed against it, which will be heard by the Supreme Court in November.”
It had been difficult for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to accept the protocol’s illegality for drafting it, but Ms Truss would not be restricted in such a way, they insisted.
They added: “She has already opposed it with her bill, but that bill does not completely undo the Protocol; it involves piles of additional legislation and an uphill battle with the House of Lords; plus, she will always be accused of violating international law.
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Liz Truss campaigned in Kent yesterday (Image: GETTY)
“Instead, by allowing the judicial review, the protocol would be immediately illegal – from the start.”
They explained: “Immediately, under international convention, it would then be the EU that would have violated international law (by signing an agreement that violates basic UK domestic law).
“In one legal and morally correct step, the Protocol would be gone.
“Whichever route she chooses, now is the right time for Truss to take decisive action. We both and the people of Northern Ireland have confidence in Truss.”
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Ben Habib is a former Brexit Party MEP (Image: GETTY)
Ben Habib suggested the EU would lose a trade war with the UK (Image: Twitter)
They also targeted the EU for its stance on the UK, as epitomized by Brussels’ announcement of more legal action last week over the UK’s non-compliance with the protocol’s terms.
They added: “You don’t go with a bully to give up terrain. You certainly don’t if the threat is to the fabric of your own country.
“Not every Tory MP agrees with us, though. Many, apparently also Rishi Sunak, would rather give up protocol than engage in a trade war.”
However, fears of such an outcome were unfounded, emphasized Mr Habib and Baroness Hoey.
Brexit on Express front pages (Image: Express)
They said: “The EU is not in a position to engage in such a conflict and if it were foolish enough to start one, we would win.
“The economy is in deep trouble. It was already heavily indebted before the additional loans needed to fund lockdowns, but now faces rising interest rates and an energy crisis.
Many EU member states had debt well above 100 percent of GDP, while Germany’s debt was more than 70 percent, they emphasized.
They added: “The UK has similar problems, but our position is better because we have our own currency and a real central bank.
Rishi Sunak was criticized by Mr Habib and Mrs Hoey in the column (Image: GETTY)
“Therefore, any threat of a trade war with the UK is empty. And if the EU went into battle, it would have to introduce a customs border on the island of Ireland, doing exactly what it claimed would be unthinkable and what the protocol is supposed to prevent. Their duplicity would finally be revealed.
“Our government would not carry out any checks on our side of the border, just as there are currently no checks on goods coming to the mainland.
“The contrast of a protectionist EU and an open UK would pull the rug out from under the false narrative our government bowed to when agreeing to the protocol.
Even the weakest in our government must realize that now is the time to dump it?”