Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister MP:-
“The decision of the Secretary of State to uphold EU colonial rule in Northern Ireland, by rejecting the united unionist demand to pull the Stormont Brake, is not just a calculated slap in the face of all democrats but creates a moment of truth for the DUP.
“The DUP, in packaging their ignominious climbdown to return to the Stormont Executive, claimed that through the Stormont Brake they had cut the pipe through which EU law flowed into effect in Northern Ireland. This, along with the lie that they had removed the Irish Sea border, was a key plank in their con of their own supporters.
“Now that the Stormont Brake has so demonstrably failed, the big challenge from today is to the DUP.
“Having enthroned Sinn Fein as First Minister on these false pretences, how can the DUP continue in the Executive now that the Stormont Brake has been shown to be useless. To carry on propping up unabated EU colonial rule should not be an option for any unionist.
“The Secretary of State has thrown down the gauntlet to the DUP. They need to pick it up and demonstrate, while they still can, that unionism will not be humiliated in this way. It’s time to call time on the Executive and the DUP’s implementation of EU rule.”