James O'Brien reveals all the ways he can see out of post-Brexit NI Protocol deadlock
9 May 2022, 13:32 | Updated: 9 May 2022, 14:02
James O'Brien has told LBC listeners all three ways he can see out of the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol deadlock.
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His words have come after Dominic Raab told LBC's Swarbrick on Sunday that in order to bring "stability" in Northern Ireland, the protocol must be "dealt with".
Mr Raab's comments have come amid fears that forming an executive in Northern Ireland will be stalled after Thursday's local elections saw Sinn Fein become the nations' biggest party for the first time.
The unionist DUP has said that it will not take part in a power-sharing devolved government with Sinn Fein unless progress is made on the protocol - which was agreed by Boris Johnson's Government as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Speaking of the Northern Ireland Protocol deadlock, James reflected on how he had said he could "only see this unfolding in one of two ways".
James said: "Either there's a form of blackmail effected upon the Irish Government and the European Union by the British Government that would say 'alright well we're opening up all the borders and if you want to keep stuff out of the single market - out of the customs union, you're going to have to put up checkpoints where the border used to be'...It's a shakedown and con job, and you tell me you'd put that past this lot.
"And the second option I suggested would be a united Ireland, something that has edged ever closer with the results in the elections last week."
However, James also recalled third option, in his eyes, to break the deadlock over the Protocol.
"But there is of course a third way it can all be avoided - and that is for the United Kingdom to rejoin the single market and the customs union. I'd completely forgotten about that."
