Oral Answers to Questions Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

David Jones Excerpts
Wednesday 7th July 2021

(2 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
- Parliament Live - Hansard - - - Excerpts

I am aware of the issue that the hon. Lady has raised. To the best of my knowledge, we are making that change, but I will write to her as soon as I have that information.

David Jones Portrait Mr David Jones (Clwyd West) (Con)
- Hansard - -

While the extension of the grace period for the supply of chilled meat from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is welcome, Lord Frost is entirely right to say that it amounts in truth to no more than a temporary “sticking plaster”, so can my right hon. Friend please confirm that, unless the European Union adopts a more proportionate approach to the application of the Northern Ireland protocol, this country will do whatever is necessary, legislative or otherwise, to fix the problem permanently?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
- Parliament Live - Hansard - - - Excerpts

My right hon. Friend is, sadly, completely right in his analysis. There remain very serious problems in what I believe is the misapplication—the excessively legally purist application—of that protocol. What we are hoping for is some progress from the European Commission—some repairs that I think that they should make to the way this is working—but to echo what he has said, we certainly rule nothing out in our approach.