IRISH Prime Minister Micheal Martin has called for all parties to "dial down the rhetoric" over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The plea for calm came amid the growing crisis caused by border checks on goods travelling between Britain and Northern Ireland.
Items such as food and online shopping transported into Northern Ireland are being delayed by extra border checks required post-Brexit because, unlike the rest of the UK, the region remains in the EU single market.
The delays have sparked huge tensions in and around Northern Ireland's ports, with intimidation and "sinister" threats being made against staff.
Tensions were also heightened when the EU threatened to block Britain's supplies of coronavirus vaccine exports on the Irish border – a move the bloc later withdrew amid huge criticism.
Follow our live blog below for the very latest on Brexit and the EU…
- Imogen Braddick
CADBURY TO MOVE PRODUCTION BACK TO UK IN POST-BREXIT BOOST
In case you missed it… Cadbury has announced it is moving almost all production of Dairy Milk bars BACK to the UK after a £15million investment in a huge boost to post-Brexit Britain.
The cash injection to improve the site will allow a further 12,000 tons — 125 million bars — currently made each year in Germany and other European plants to be produced in Birmingham from 2022.
The move by parent firm Mondelez International, which bought Cadbury for £11.5billion in 2010, will also secure 40 full-time, seasonal jobs.
Louise Stigant, UK MD for Mondelez, said: "At a time when UK manufacturing is facing significant challenges, it’s never been more vital to secure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of our business."
Trade Unions have welcomed moving chocolate production back to Birmingham, saying it represented a "vote of confidence in the UK workforce".
- Imogen Braddick
GHANA-UK TRADE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
The UK and Ghana have finalised negotiations on a new trade partnership agreement, the government announced today.
The agreement will provide for duty free and quota free access for Ghana to the UK market and preferential tariff reductions for UK exporters to the Ghanaian market, the Department for International Trade said a statement.
- Imogen Braddick
BREAKING
Trade Secretary Liz Truss said the UK has finalised a deal with Ghana covering £1.2 billion of trade.
She said the deal will be signed shortly.
- Imogen Braddick
SIMMERING TENSIONS
Simon Byrne, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has warned of a "febrile" atmosphere.
Inspections on animal-based produce arriving from Great Britain, which are required under Brexit's contentious Northern Ireland Protocol, are currently suspended amid fears for the safety of staff.
Police have blamed menacing graffiti on disgruntled individuals and small groups and have made clear there is no evidence of wider paramilitary involvement in threats.
Byrne warned of the potential for the simmering tensions within the loyalist community to escalate.
"It is now time for wise words and calm heads," Byrne told members of the NI Policing Board. "We need to work together to look at a route map to normality because that seems to be the opportunity before us, to step back from the brink in terms of community tension."
Simon Byrne has warned of the potential for tensions to escalateCredit: PA:Press Association - Imogen Braddick
'STEADY DIET OF BREXIT UNCERTAINTY'
The next Scottish government is being urged to pause plans including the "tourist tax" on hotel rooms and the regulation of short-term holiday lets.
CBI Scotland claims policies such as the transient visitor levy could have a "damaging impact on Scotland's economic recovery" – especially after Brexit.
Tracy Black, CBI Scotland director, said: "After a steady diet of Brexit uncertainty, Covid-19 and decades of weak productivity growth, the Scottish economy is in desperate need of a recipe for success.
"Neither government nor business can deliver that alone – it must be done together."
CBI Scotland wants ministers to focus on boosting skills, and also on making the 2020s "a decade of delivery towards net-zero emissions".
- Imogen Braddick
EU TOURING BARRIERS BRANDED 'ABSURD'
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has slammed the barriers facing British musicians who want to tour in the EU as "absurd and self-defeating".
British musicians now face costly bills to obtain visas if they want to play in some EU countries.
Mr Dowden said the situation "could have been solved" before January 1 and blamed the EU for the problem, according to the BBC.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Conservative MP Clive Watling said: "I know that the EU walked away from our offer, but it must be brought back to the table.
"Touring performers will be left with a double whammy of an industry devastated by Covid and the loss of an entire continent as a venue. Will he please bang the table and get the EU back to talk on this?"
- Ben Hill
EU DEFENCE
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen defended her handling of the bloc's coronavirus vaccine strategy, but warned that more production and supply problems lie ahead.
In an interview with several outlets, including French daily La Croix and Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung, von der Leyen admitted Europe could have acted more quickly to boost production capacity.
"In Europe, we aim to have 70 percent of the adult population vaccinated before the end of the summer. This is not insignificant, we are moving in the right direction," she said.
"There will certainly be other obstacles, other problems in production, and we must also prepare for possible shortages of raw materials or certain components of these vaccines."
Von der Leyen also admitted she should never "even have thought" of invoking a clause in the Brexit withdrawal agreement to prevent vaccines crossing the Ireland to Northern Ireland border.
- Ben Hill
'IRRESPONSIBLE'
It would be "wholly irresponsible" for a referendum on Scottish independence to be held this year, Douglas Ross has said.
The Scottish Conservative leader made the comments after the SNP published its 11-point "road map" towards a second vote.
It stated that a legal referendum will be held after the pandemic if a pro-independence majority is elected to the Scottish Parliament in May's election.
But Mr Ross said people are "absolutely deluded" if they think a referendum should be held rather than focusing on the country's economic recovery from Covid-19.
A spokesman for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "The Scottish Government is absolutely focused on tackling the pandemic, which remains everyone's top priority, and we paused work on independence last year at the start of the Covid crisis – unlike the Tories who disgracefully ploughed ahead with Brexit in the middle of the pandemic."
- Ben Hill
FINANCIAL ADVICE
The UK's financial services industry should focus on taking on New York and Singapore rather than the EU post-Brexit, the chief executive of Barclays has said.
Jes Staley, who has led the bank since December 2015, told the BBC that UK fostering co-operation and trust with the EU was important in the wake of the divorce, but not at the cost of being uncompetitive.
He told the broadcaster: "What the UK needs and London needs, is to make sure that the city is one of the best places, whether it was regulation or law or language, or talent that manages these flows of capital well.
"I think what London needs to be focused on is not Frankfurt or not Paris, (it) needs to be focused on New York and Singapore."
- Patrick Knox
‘FRUSTRATIONS MUST BE CHANNELLED THROUGH PEACEFUL MEANS’
Northern Ireland's First Minister called for calm amid the row over post-Brexit trade disruption as the region's police chief warned people to step back from the brink of violence.
Arlene Foster stressed that frustrations must be channelled through constitutional means after Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable Simon Byrne warned of a "febrile" atmosphere.
Mrs Foster's sentiment was echoed by Irish premier Micheal Martin who said parties needed to "dial down the rhetoric" over the protocol amid tensions rising.
Inspections on animal-based produce arriving from Great Britain, which are required under Brexit's contentious Northern Ireland Protocol, are currently suspended amid fears for the safety of staff.
- Patrick Knox
IRISH PM ‘DIAL DOWN THE RHETORIC’
Micheal Martin said there were elements of the protocol that could be fine-tuned but that a common sense, pragmatic approach was needed.
"There are areas where we can fine-tune that protocol, I believe, let's remember it's only about four weeks in operation," the Taoiseach said.
"It has taken about four years to put it in place in terms of all the negotiations.
"We do need to take a common-sense pragmatic approach to it, to iron out some of these and issues in terms of its implementation.
"However, when potential danger arises, or threats and tensions rise, I think we all need to dial down the rhetoric, and we appreciate the language that was used today in terms of all of us taking a calm and collected approach to this.”
NINTCHDBPICT000634141573Credit: AP:Associated Press - Patrick Knox
BREXIT ISSUES TACKLED: RED OR BLUE INK?
Squabbling over whether to use red or blue ink on post-Brexit customs forms is among the problems plaguing exporters who are facing a “whack-a-mole” situation, a Scottish trade body has warned.
Scotland Food and Drink chief executive James Withers told MSPs the sector has faced approximately £1 million in lost sales every day during “an absolutely dreadful first few weeks of trading in this post-Brexit world”.
Among the “catalogue of problems that have just been racking up day by day” since the implementation of the Brexit trade deal, Mr Withers revealed there was an “ongoing debate about whether forms should be filled in in red ink or blue ink”.
Giving evidence to Holyrood’s Europe Committee, he explained: “You think you get the right colour of ink and you’re told that the signature needs to be in a different colour to the colour that the letterhead is on.
“Part of the challenge here – particularly the other side of the channel – is you’ve got a lot of young, inexperienced customs agents. It’s like whack-a-mole: a problem crops up, you hit it on the head and fix it and then another two crop up at the same time.”
- Sarah Grealish
WHAT DOES THE BREXIT DEAL MEAN FOR THE UK AND THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE?
- The highest court in the EU, the ECJ, now has no role in UK legal matters.
- Instead of being referred to the ECJ, disputes between the UK and EU that cannot be solved will be sent to an independent tribunal instead.
- This was a key selling point for Brexiteers who believed it would allow the UK to “take back control” of its laws.
- However, Northern Ireland could still be influenced by the ECJ as it continues to follow some EU trade rules.
- Tariffs could be imposed on future trade if either party’s dismiss the rules or product standards.
JOHNSON'S UNION UNIT CHIEF REPLACED AS HOLYROOD BATTLE LOOMS
Boris Johnson has shaken up his team aimed at keeping the Union together, replacing a former Scottish MP with a veteran of the Vote Leave Brexit campaign.
Number 10 said the Prime Minister believes himself to be the "voice of the majority" in Scotland who rejected independence and Downing Street's Union unit will support him in his efforts to keep the UK together.
But in a sign of his concerns just three months before Holyrood elections where calls for a second independence referendum will be the dominant issue, former Scottish MP Luke Graham has been replaced at the head of the No 10 Union unit by Oliver Lewis.
The Scottish National Party claimed the move was a "Vote Leave takeover" which would drive up support for independence.
SWEET MOVE
Cadbury is reshoring its production of their signature Dairy Milk chocolate bar back to the UK from Europe after a £15 million investment at their original site.
The production line will be relocated from Germany and other European sites, back to Bournville in Birmingham.
- Patrick Knox
POST-BREXIT LANGUAGE SKILLS GAP
The number of students accepted on to modern language degree courses has dropped by more than a third over nearly a decade, data shows.
The drop in demand comes at the same time as a decline in the uptake of languages at A-level, according to the universities admissions service, Ucas.
It warned the fall in students who have been accepted to study the subject at university “could exacerbate” the language skills gap post-Brexit.
- Patrick Knox
STEP BACK FROM THE BRINK OVER BREXIT TENSIONS
People need to step back from the brink of violence, Northern Ireland's chief constable has said, amid rising tensions over disruption to Irish Sea trade from the rest of the UK after Brexit.
Simon Byrne warned of a "febrile" atmosphere after 26 graffiti incidents were detected across the country, and officials carrying out customs checks at ports in Belfast and Larne withdrew following the threats.
Police said they have changed their operational tempo and will be accelerating development of intelligence.
Mr Byrne told the Policing Board in Belfast: "It is now time for wise words and calm heads.
"We need to work together to look at a route map to normality because that seems to be the opportunity before us, to step back from the brink in terms of community tension."
- Patrick Knox
‘GOVERNMENT IN DENIAL ABOUT ISSUES FACING FISH EXPORTERS’
Representatives from Scotland's fishing and seafood industry have accused the UK Government of being "in denial" about the scale of the problem facing businesses exporting to the European Union.
James Withers, chief executive at Scottish Food and Drink, told MPs that it had been a "dreadful first few weeks" due to problems with paperwork and IT systems crashing.
Giving evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee, he said "pleas" to the UK Government for a grace period on post-Brexit trading arrangements "fell on deaf ears".
During the same committee session, the Scottish Seafood Association's chief executive said that every day was an "improving situation" with exporting seafood, adding: "But it's far from being perfect."
- Patrick Knox
BREXIT DEAL RED TAPE MAKING BUSINESS UNECONOMIC
Red tape linked to the Brexit deal has rendered most business between Britain and Northern Ireland uneconomic, Tory former chancellor Lord Lamont has warned.
Highlighting the threat of the region's economy drifting away from the rest of the UK, the Conservative peer sought assurances that if problems were not tackled, the Government would "not rule out unilateral action".
Lord Lamont made his comments amid growing concerns that measures in the EU divorce settlement intended to keep open the land border with the Republic were disrupting trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Boris Johnson has warned he is ready to override elements of the Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland to prevent a trade barrier developing in the Irish Sea.
- Patrick Knox
AND BUNGLING EU CHIEF ALSO WARNS OF MORE VACCINE DELAYS
Ursula von der Leyen defended her handling of the bloc's coronavirus vaccine strategy but warned that more production and supply problems lie ahead.
In an interview with several outlets, including French daily La Croix and Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung, von der Leyen admitted Europe could have acted more quickly to boost production capacity.
"In Europe, we aim to have 70 percent of the adult population vaccinated before the end of the summer. This is not insignificant, we are moving in the right direction," she said.
"There will certainly be other obstacles, other problems in production, and we must also prepare for possible shortages of raw materials or certain components of these vaccines."
- Patrick Knox
EU LEADER ADMITS BEING WRONG ABOUT BRIT JAB BLOCK
Ursula von der Leyen admitted she should never "even have thought" of invoking a clause in the Brexit withdrawal agreement to prevent vaccines from crossing the Ireland to Northern Ireland border.
This threat floated in a European Commission export control plan tomorrtow before being hurriedly abandoned, was denounced in both Dublin and London and embarrassed the Commission.
But she defended the broader European vaccine strategy, which has seen the EU Commission negotiate contracts with private pharmaceutical giants on behalf of 27 member state governments.
- Patrick Knox
‘FRUSTRATIONS MUST BE CHANNELLED THROUGH PEACEFUL MEANS’
Northern Ireland's First Minister called for calm amid the row over post-Brexit trade disruption as the region's police chief warned people to step back from the brink of violence.
Arlene Foster stressed that frustrations must be channelled through constitutional means after Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable Simon Byrne warned of a "febrile" atmosphere.
Inspections on animal-based produce arriving from Great Britain, which are required under Brexit's contentious Northern Ireland Protocol, are currently suspended amid fears for the safety of staff.
Police have blamed menacing graffiti on disgruntled individuals and small groups and have made clear there is no evidence of wider paramilitary involvement in threats.
- Patrick Knox
BANK OF ENGLAND FORESEES VACCINE-DRIVEN AND BREXIT DEAL RECOVERY
It projected Britain's economic recovery on the back of the nation's successful vaccines rollout, as it froze interest rates and stimulus.
The central bank slashed this year's economic growth forecast to 5.0 percent from 7.25 percent — but also lifted the guidance for next year to 7.25 percent from 6.25 percent.
.And it signalled that Britain would likely avoid a double-dip recession with marginal growth expected in the final three months of last year.
- Olivia Burke
CALLS FOR CALM AMID FEARS OF VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Arlene Foster has called for calm after Northern Ireland Chief Constable Simon Byrne urged people to return from the brink of violence.
The First Minister said, "I do think it's incredibly important that people do stay calm and that they focus their energies on constitutional politics and take things forward in that fashion.
"Constitutional politics is the way forward. I know people are very frustrated, but they need to channel that frustration through constitutional politics so that we can effect change in that fashion."
Stormont Finance Minister Conor Murphy said: "I think it is very clear that we do need to dial down the rhetoric and we've heard some comments which I think are dangerous from people who should know better on radio programmes yesterday."
- Olivia Burke
BREXIT RED TAPE MAKES BUSINESSES UNECONOMIC
Post-brexit red tape has made most businesses between Britain and Northern Ireland uneconomic, former chancellor Lord Lamont has said.
The Tory peer suggested NI could drift from the rest of the UK and urged the Government to "not rule out unilateral action."
It comes as tensions continue to rise between Northern Ireland and the EU regarding the protocol.
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