Unionists indicate UK government's position on Protocol Bill gives off signs of weakness to the EU

UUP stalwart Sir Reg Empey said "a lot of people will interpret it" in such a way, after reports that the bill has been put "on ice" by Rishi Sunak's government while talks with the EU go on.

Meanwhile the DUP's Ian Paisley lamented the sluggish progress towards turning the bill into law, blaming this pace on “internal Conservative Party politics”.

The bill – which would give the government powers to unilaterally pause the Protocol – was introduced to parliament in summer, and is currently set to have its next stage in the House of Lords.

In the meantime, the government is hoping direct negotiations with the EU on solving Protocol-related problems will bear some fruit.

The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that an unnamed senior government source had told the paper: “To give room to the negotiations, we are not asking for the whips to bring it back to the Lords now. We want to give negotiations the best chance."

Many unionists have pinned their hopes on the bill as means of undercutting the effects of the Irish Sea border. But it has faced stiff opposition even from within Tory ranks.

Asked if the latest developments are a sign of weakness, Sir Reg said "that's how a lot of people will interpret it".

He told the News Letter that the mathematics of the Lords are not in the government's favour, so if it pressed ahead with the bill it could face an embarrassing level of opposition even from fellow Tories – something which would undermine its negotiating position with the EU.

Whilst the government may be able to win a Commons vote, only 264 out of 786 Lords members are Tories.

"They can't whip enough people," said Sir Reg.

"Part of the problem is there's a large wedge of Conservatives against it. They can't even turn out their own people in full.

"I think the EU people in London are very smart and clever – they know everything going on. They know perfectly well this is the position the government has got itself into."

All the same, it might still be better for Mr Sunak to avoid letting such scenes play out for all to see.

While the DUP opposes re-entering government until there is movement on the Protocol, Sir Reg (and the UUP generally) oppose this.

Sir Reg said: "We've got into the weird position where unionists are in part providing Sinn Fein with justification for their stance that Northern Ireland is a failed political entity."

Ian Paisley meanwhile made the following point to the UK foreign secretary James Cleverly in the House of Commons on Tuesday: “Does he not believe that the EU smells weakness in this Government if they take their foot off the pedal with regards to the Protocol Bill in the other place?

“I’d encourage the Foreign Secretary to press on with the Protocol Bill.”

Mr Cleverly had said: “The NI Protocol Bill exists for a reason. The commitment I made to Maros Sefcovic and the conversations I had with him and with others is that we wouldn’t either artificially accelerate that process, or artificially hinder or retard that process.”