Disgraced former Defence Secretary Liam Fox has attempted to blame Brussels for the UK government’s failure to find a solution to the problem of a potential hard border in Ireland after Brexit.
The disgraced former Defence Secretary has issued an ultimatum to Brussels, saying there can be no final decision on the future of a border in Ireland until the UK and EU have reached a trade deal. However, this position is at odds with the negotiating timeline already agreed between London and Brussels earlier this year.
His comments come after Dublin warned that it could use its veto over any future UK-EU deal if the UK did not come up with a reasonable proposal to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
It is not in the interests of Dublin or Belfast to impose a hard border between Ireland and the UK through the middle of the island, and could reignite the tensions that underpinned the decades of violence in Northern Ireland that ended with the Good Friday Agreement.
The UK government has always maintained that it does not want a hard border in Ireland, but if the UK leaves the single market and customs union then it will be difficult to avoid the situation. One proposal from Dublin was for the customs border to be moved to the Irish Sea, but the idea was quickly condemned by members of the DUP, the Northern Irish party on which Theresa May relies for her government’s slim majority.
Liam Fox was forced to resign as Defence Secretary in 2011 after it became clear that he had taken a school friend and lobbyist with him on official Ministry of Defence meetings and trips around the globe, despite his friend having no official role in government and no security clearance. Theresa May brought the disgraced figure back into government as Secretary of State for International Trade in the wake of the Brexit vote in an attempt to increase the number of Brexiteers within her cabinet.
