Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“On the day Unionism takes the battle against the iniquitous Protocol to the High Court we have had a graphic illustration of just how damaging it is to the people of Northern Ireland. While Tagrisso, a life-saving drug for treating patients in the early stages of lung cancer, has been approved for use in the rest of the UK the Sea Border means that patients in Northern Ireland will miss out.
“Cancer does not discriminate against anyone. It takes no account of anyone’s politics. But now we see that Northern Ireland cancer patients are at a practical disadvantage from other parts of our country because we have left behind under the EU Medical Agency while Great Britain has broken free.
“The whole world has seen how slow the EU can be when it comes to issues like this due to the shambolic way in which the issue of Covid-19 vaccines has been handled.
“Those who have called for the “rigorous implementation” have some explaining to do. A lifesaving drug is being denied to the people of Northern Ireland because of laws into which we have no input and over which we have no democratic control.
“Here we see that opposition to the Sea Border is no mere philosophical argument but something which has profoundly serious ramifications for the people of Northern Ireland. The Protocol is, as I have said for some time, literally bad for your health.”