Britain's Internal Market Bill a vital safety net, says PM's spokesman

"We've been clear that as a responsible government we cannot allow the peace process or the UK's internal market to inadvertently be compromised by unintended consequences of the (Northern Ireland) protocol (of the EU divorce agreement)."

Britain's government sees the clauses in the Internal Market Bill as a vital safety net to protect the Northern Irish peace process and protect trade in the country, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday. In a message to peers in the upper house of parliament who are due to vote on parts of the bill that the government has admitted breach international law later on Monday, the spokesman also said lawmakers in the lower house have already backed the legislation.

"MPs (members of parliament) backed the Internal Market Bill ... in September, and our position remains that the clauses are a vital safety net," he told reporters. "We've been clear that as a responsible government we cannot allow the peace process or the UK's internal market to inadvertently be compromised by unintended consequences of the (Northern Ireland) protocol (of the EU divorce agreement)."

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