UK PM defends post-Brexit move on N.Ireland protocol

London, March 13 : British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the decision to suspend parts of the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol was lawful and right.
“What we’re doing is taking some lawful, some technical measures to build up confidence in the east-west operation (of the protocol),” Xinhua news agency quoted Johnson as saying by Reuters on Friday on a visit to Northern Ireland.
“We think it’s lawful, and indeed, we think it’s right, in view of the impact on the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement, and the need to have consent from both communities,” The Prime Minister said.
He was referring to the agreement signed in April 1998 to help bring to an end a period of conflict in Northern Ireland called the Troubles.
The remarks came after the UK unilaterally extended grace periods for implementing post-Brexit checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
The first of these periods was to expire at the end of March but the UK said they will be extended until October.