The Government says it would rewrite UK laws to match EU rules. (Image: Getty)
The Government has offered to abide by EU rules despite Brexit.
If new packaging laws were rolled out by the union, Parliament will reportedly rewrite UK laws so that they are in line with those across the English Channel.
The Northern Ireland Secretary, Hilary Benn wrote to Edwin Poots, the speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday, The Telegraph reports.
He said: “We will take the steps necessary to avoid new regulatory barriers arising from our classification, labelling and packaging regimes for chemicals that would undermine supplies into Northern Ireland.”
The secretary of state added: “The Government will explicitly consult on applying a consistent regime across the United Kingdom, should this be required to safeguard the UK internal market.”
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said that the Stormont Brake threshold has not been met. (Image: Getty)
It comes after, in December, the DUP proposed to pull the “Stormont brake” – an element the Brexit deal that gives the Northern Ireland Assembly the ability to object to new European laws – over EU regulations on Chemical Classification, Labelling and Packaging.
All unionist parties backed this move.
However, the UK Government has the power to determine if the threshold for the brake, that the new laws would have “a significant impact specific to the everyday life of communities in Northern Ireland,” is met.
Mr Benn told Mr Poots that it was not met on this occasion.
Former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost said: “Hilary Benn has let the cat out of the bag.
“We are being pulled back by the EU’s tractor beam – and Labour are quite happy to make it happen.”
Lord Frost says the Government has ‘let the cat out of the bag’. (Image: Getty)
The peer added that the Government’s Product Standards Bill, which enables it adopt EU product safety rules, meant it could “align our rules with the EU’s”.
Lord Frost said: “Now the government has admitted that Northern Ireland will be the justification for such alignment.”
The leader of the DUP, Gavin Robinson, said Mr Benn was “wrong”, and that not activating the brake was a “grave mistake” that “will exacerbate trade friction between Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.
He added: “It is high time the Government stopped abdicating responsibility and started standing up for Northern Ireland with conviction, rather than surrendering to EU diktats in the absence of a coherent or credible plan.”
