Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“No one should be deceived into thinking that the new proposed ‘Instrument’ changes one word of the Withdrawal Agreement, or its Backstop.
“The Instrument is clear in its own preamble as to the limitations on its worth:
“it constitutes a document of reference that will have to be made use of if any issue arises in the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement. To this effect, it has legal force and a binding character.”
“So at its height it is a “document of reference” to which regard will be had in any interpretation issue relating to the Withdrawal Agreement, and that is the only sense in which it has any legal effect or standing.
“So, it creates no change to the Backstop or alternatives to it. In short, it is essentially assurance, not alteration.
“As for the political declaration it remains mere words with no legal compulsion.
“I therefore fail to see how any MP who with conviction voted against the Backstop a few weeks ago could now vote for it on the basis of thus very thin gruel.”