THE UK's Brexit negotiator does not want to trigger Article 16, Sinn Féin claimed yesterday following a meeting with the UK's new Brexit negotiator Liz Truss.
The foreign secretary had just 24 earlier warned the mechanism to suspend parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol would be used if talks with the EU fail.
Sinn Féin and the DUP held separate meetings with Ms Truss yesterday ahead of her first face-to-face talks on Thursday with her EU counterpart Maroš Šefcovic.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph last weekend, Ms Truss said she would be putting forward "constructive proposals" on ending the rift with the EU over issues including the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland.
The NI Protocol is part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement agreed by the UK in 2019, but Ms Truss said she was prepared to trigger Article 16, a mechanism that suspends parts of the Protocol.
"I want a negotiated solution, but if we have to use legitimate provisions including Article 16, I am willing to do that," she said.
Following a virtual meeting with Ms Truss, Sinn Féin deputy first minister Michelle O'Neill described the encounter as "constructive".
"I took the opportunity to drive home the message that the DUP do not speak for the majority of people here," she said, adding that she told Ms Truss her party sought an "urgent solution" and that "the Protocol must be made to work".
Ms O'Neill said: "This is about people's livelihoods, this is about trying to support our local economy. Liz Truss made a number of statements, some of which recognised the sense of urgency."
She added of the Brexit negotiator, who replaced Lord Frost in the role last month: "She said she did not want to trigger Article 16, but we are yet to see the colour of her money. Time will tell if that is the case."
Meanwhile, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said his party's discussions with Ms Truss focussed on "the damage the Protocol arrangements are doing to Northern Ireland, in both economic and political terms".
The Lagan Valley MP said: "The protocol was imposed on Northern Ireland without the support of its people. The DUP opposed it in Parliament and has consistently forecast the consequences of its enactment. A year on from its activation we have won the argument that the protocol is unworkable and damaging to Northern Ireland – even those who previously argued for its rigorous implementation accept begrudgingly that it is not working."
He added: "We have indicated to Ms Truss that Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom internal market must be restored so that there are no checks for goods travelling from Great Britain and staying within Northern Ireland. That must be guaranteed by the UK Government."
Meanwhile, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood hit out at the DUP's continued threat to collapse Stormont if their protocol demands are not met.
Referring to yesterday's meeting, he said: "The DUP is once again chasing influence with Tories at Westminster who will use them when it’s convenient and then dump them just as quickly. They haven’t learned a thing from their last ugly break up with that party."
