Responding to the announcement of a post-Brexit trade deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union, Ulster Unionist leader, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, said:
“The announcement by the Prime Minister and European Commission President of a trade agreement may bring some certainty to businesses in Great Britain. However for Northern Ireland the benefits bring little to celebrate as we remain under the unequal and massively bureaucratic Protocol, with the imposition of an Irish Sea border just days away. No amount of spin from Boris Johnson or those who facilitated and cleared the path for him, can hide that fact.
“With over 2000 pages of text to closely examine it will take time to fully understand if there are any, even wider implications for Northern Ireland, but no matter what, this deal at the 11th hour should not be spun as a success - in many ways it is the least worst option and possibly the worst of both worlds for Northern Ireland.
“2021 will be a very difficult year and there should be a period of derogation for Northern Ireland for as long as possible included in the deal.”