Statement by TUV deputy leader Court Councillor Ron McDowell:
“As someone who lives and works in and has the privilege to represent one of the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland, I am well aware of the alarm yesterday’s judgement in the High Court has caused. Public services are already beyond breaking point with folk unable to get timely access to their GP and here we face the very real prospect of an influx of migrates who will see Northern Ireland as a soft touch and somewhere they can escape the prospect of more robust measures in Great Britain.
“A common immigration policy is something which is fundamental to defining a nation. However, in this part of the UK it is EU laws which apply, not those of Westminster.
“People are entitled to ask why we got to this point. The reality is that the DUP accepted a duff deal which they sold to the Unionist people as a fantastic achievement. They were lauded by the great and the good while waving around their so-called “Safeguarding the Union” deal. Paragraph 46 of the deal claimed that “the Windsor Framework applies only in respect of the trade in goods”. It dismissed warnings on this issue proclaiming there had been “incorrect assertions about the impact of the Windsor Framework on, for example, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. The Government’s unambiguous position is that the Windsor Framework is not engaged by the Bill. Article 2 of the Framework does not apply EU law or ECJ jurisdiction”.
“We now know that this was a lie.”