Ulster Unionist Party Leader, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, has criticised the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson for continuing to be blasé about Brexit after leaving Northern Ireland in the lurch.

Steve Aiken OBE MLA said:

“We are only days into the transition period as the United Kingdom moves out of the European Union and uncertainty continues to grow.

“The Prime Minister appears adamant that there is no need for the UK to follow Brussel’s rules.  On the face of it, this may be very welcome to some, but it creates an immediate and long-lasting problem for Northern Ireland as Boris Johnson has left us in a position where, no matter what the rest of our country is doing, we will have no choice but to follow Brussel’s rules.

“Alarm bells should be ringing for any member of the UK Government who claims to be a unionist as Stena Line have announced they are considering how they will facilitate new checks at British Ports.  It is a disgrace that the Prime Minister continues to be so blasé after he left Northern Ireland in the lurch.

“We are the region of the United Kingdom that stands to be most affected by whatever is agreed, or not agreed, over the next eleven months.  However, we are also the region that is the least prepared, largely due to us having been in a state of political paralysis for the last three years. 

“The Executive cannot afford to wait around and must quickly move up the gears to get Northern Ireland into a position of being able to weather whatever is coming towards us and fit to fight our corner, making sure the UK Government is adequately representing our needs in the negotiations during the transition period.”