COUNCIL STAFF at Northern Ireland's Larne Port have been withdrawn from inspection duties amid concerns for their safety following a rise in anti-Protocol sentiment.
The decision was made following an "upsurge in sinister and menacing behaviour in recent weeks", as graffiti appeared last month referencing tensions about the Northern Ireland Protocol and calling port staff "targets".
The council said the ongoing situation has caused "extreme distress and worry to staff", and it had no option but to withdraw 12 staff from their duties.
On Monday evening, food checks at Belfast and Larne ports were suspended following the move.
Meanwhile, newspapers have blasted the EU over threats to disrupt Britain's vaccine supply amid its own jab crisis.
After being told they were only going to receive a fraction of the UK-made AstraZeneca jab they'd ordered, the EU made an astonishing threat to stop 3.5million doses of the Pfizer jab from reaching the UK.
Follow our live blog below for the very latest on Brexit and the EU…
- Joseph Gamp
POLICE TO HOLD TALKS WITH AGENCIES AFTER PHYSICAL BREXIT CHECKS AT PORTS SUSPENDED
Police are to hold talks later today with partner agencies after physical Brexit checks at Belfast and Larne ports were suspended amid safety concerns.
Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said on Monday it had decided "in the interests of the wellbeing of staff to temporarily suspend physical inspections of products of animal origin at Larne and Belfast" pending further discussions with the PSNI.
A Daera spokesman said: "The situation will be kept under review and in the meantime full documentary checks will continue to be carried out as usual."
Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots said he had taken the decision to withdraw personnel at the ports in consultation with his staff.
- Joseph Gamp
SCOTCH WHISKY LOSSES AFTER US TARIFFS REACH HALF A BILLION POUNDS, BODY WARNS
Losses to Scotch whisky exports after tariffs were imposed by the United States have reached half a billion pounds, according to an industry body.
New figures suggest exports of single malt Scotch whisky have fallen by more than a third – amounting to more than £500 million – since a 25% tariff was imposed in October 2019.
The tariffs of £5.6 billion were initially introduced by the administration of former president Donald Trump, in retaliation for state support given to Airbus, with products including Scotch whisky badly affected by the measures.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said distillers are "continuing to pay the price for an aerospace dispute that has nothing to do" with them.
Chief executive Karen Betts has described the current situation as "unsustainable".
- Joseph Gamp
FOSTER ACCUSES PM OF 'DERELICTION OF DUTY'
Arlene Foster has accused Boris Johnson of a dereliction of duty and claimed he is not doing enough to address unionist "anguish" over Irish Sea trade disruption.
Northern Ireland's First Minister demanded action from the Prime Minister following the EU's "horrific" botched move to invoke a mechanism to suspend elements of the new post-Brexit arrangements.
The European Commission was forced into an embarrassing U-turn on Friday when it backtracked on an attempt to restrict the free flow of coronavirus vaccine across the Irish border.
Mrs Foster told BBC Radio Ulster: "I have to say directly to the Prime Minister and to the UK Government that it is a dereliction of duty for a prime minister of the United Kingdom to stand by and allow United Kingdom citizens to suffer, and that is what he is allowing to do at present, so therefore action is absolutely needed."
Senior European politicians have conceded it was a mistake to try to unilaterally suspend part of Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol to prevent the region being used as backdoor to move inoculations from the bloc into the UK.
- Joseph Gamp
SIMON COVENEY: TRIGGERING ARTICLE 16 ‘A MISTAKE THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED’
The EU’s bid to override part of the Northern Ireland protocol on Brexit was “a mistake that shouldn’t have happened”, Ireland’s Foreign Minister said.
Speaking on Monday, Simon Coveney said the protocol should not have been touched without consulting the British and Irish governments.
He said: “I think it was a mistake that everybody recognises should not have happened.”I mean in simple terms, you do not touch the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland without full consultation with the people who are most impacted by it.
“The Irish government, the British government and, perhaps most importantly, political leaders in Northern Ireland.
“That’s what happened on Friday, which should not have happened. And I think lessons have been learned as a result of that, and it certainly won’t happen again.”
- Joseph Gamp
EU COULD HAVE DISRUPTED VACCINE SUPPLY, NI HEALTH MINISTER WARNS
The EU could have endangered vaccine supplies to Northern Ireland by enforcing Irish Sea trade disruption, the health minister said.
The Oxford AstraZeneca jab is manufactured in the UK but the Pfizer BioNTech's vaccine comes from a plant in Belgium, and has in the past been routed to Belfast via Dublin.
The European Commission was forced into an embarrassing U-turn on Friday when it backtracked on an attempt to restrict the free flow of vaccine across the Irish border.
Robin Swann said: "This had potentially very real implications for ourselves because we had vaccine actually in transit, and had that article been enforced we may have seen difficulties in the supply and the arrival of vaccines here in Northern Ireland."
More than 246,000 doses have been administered.
- Joseph Gamp
PSNI PATROLLING PORTS TO REASSURE STAFF AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said force officials will meet partner agencies on Tuesday to discuss the situation.
"The safety of staff working at points of entry is of the utmost importance to us," he said. "Where we have any credible information we will share that with our partners and take appropriate action.
"We have increased patrols at Larne Port and other points of entry in order to reassure staff and the local community."
Police last month warned that discontent in loyalist communities was "growing" over the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is designed to allow the country to follow the EU's customs rules and has caused delays at ports because of new declarations and checks.
- Joseph Gamp
ANIMAL-BASED FOOD CHECKS SUSPENDED AT BELFAST AND LARNE PORTS
All regulatory animal-based food checks have been suspended at Belfast and Larne ports, Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has said.
It comes after council staff at Larne Port were withdrawn from inspection duties amid concerns for their safety and welfare.
A Daera spokesman said: "On the basis of information received today and pending further discussions with the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland), Daera has decided in the interests of the wellbeing of staff to temporarily suspend physical inspections of products of animal origin at Larne and Belfast.
"The situation will be kept under review and in the meantime full documentary checks will continue to be carried out as usual."
- Joseph Gamp
CONTINUED….
The DAERA's decision comes following local council staff at Larne Port being withdrawn from their duties amid concerns for their safety.
A spokesman for the DAERA said on Monday evening: "On the basis of information received today and, pending further discussions with the PSNI, DAERA has decided in the interests of the wellbeing of staff to temporarily suspend physical inspections of Products of Animal Origin at Larne and Belfast.
"The situation will be kept under review and in the meantime full documentary checks will continue to be carried out as usual."
- Joseph Gamp
BREAKING: ALL FOOD CHECKS SUSPENDED AT BELFAST AND LARNE PORTS
All regulatory animal-based food checks have been suspended at Belfast and Larne ports, Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has said.
- Joseph Gamp
BRITAIN IMPOSES SANCTIONS ON ZIMBABWE SECURITY CHIEFS
Britain is imposing sanctions on four Zimbabwean security chiefs responsible for "serious human rights violations", Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced.
Mr Raab said the four were linked to the deaths of 23 protesters since President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power in November 2017.
They included a state-sponsored crackdown against protests in January 2019 which resulted in the deaths of 17 people and post-election violence in August 2018 in which six protesters lost their lives.
"These sanctions send a clear message that we will hold to account those responsible for the most egregious human rights violations, including the deaths of innocent Zimbabweans," Mr Raab said.
"These sanctions target senior individuals in the Government, and not ordinary Zimbabweans. We will continue to press for the necessary political and economic reforms that will benefit all Zimbabweans."
- Joseph Gamp
EU TURN
The European Commission was forced into an embarrassing U-turn on Friday when it backtracked on an attempt to restrict the free flow of goods across the Irish border.
Senior European politicians have conceded it was a mistake to try to unilaterally suspend part of Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol to prevent the region being used as backdoor to move vaccines from the bloc into the UK.
- Joseph Gamp
SIMON COVENEY SAYS TRIGGERING ARTICLE 16 'A MISTAKE THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED'
The EU's bid to override part of the Northern Ireland protocol on Brexit was "a mistake that shouldn't have happened", Ireland's Foreign Minister said.
Speaking on Monday, Simon Coveney said the protocol should not have been touched without consulting the British and Irish governments.
He said: "I think it was a mistake that everybody recognises should not have happened."I mean in simple terms, you do not touch the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland without full consultation with the people who are most impacted by it.
"The Irish government, the British government and, perhaps most importantly, political leaders in Northern Ireland.
"That's what happened on Friday, which should not have happened. And I think lessons have been learned as a result of that, and it certainly won't happen again."
- Joseph Gamp
MAYOR CALLS LARNE PORT GRAFFITI 'TROUBLING' AS COUNCIL MEMBERS TAKEN OFF DUTIES
In addition to concerns over the recent graffiti it is understood staff expressed concerns that individuals had been spotted taking down their number plate details.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, councillor Peter Johnston, said: "We have seen what I would describe as deeply troubling graffiti and a very notable upping of community tensions towards the NI Protocol, particularly in recent days.
"The health and wellbeing of our staff is always this council's number one priority and that is why the decision has been taken to withdraw them from their work at the Port with immediate effect until we have very real assurances and full confidence that they can go about their duties without fear, threat or concern for their wellbeing."
- Joseph Gamp
BREAKING: COUNCIL STAFF PULLED FROM INSPECTION DUTIES AT LARNE PORT FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY
Local council staff at Larne Port in Northern Ireland have been withdrawn from inspection duties amid concerns for their safety and welfare.
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said the decision was made following an "upsurge in sinister and menacing behaviour in recent weeks".
Graffiti appeared in the area last month referencing tensions about the Northern Ireland Protocol and describing port staff as "targets".
There has also been a number of daubings in Belfast amid anger among some at the protocol, with a raft of new checks on goods arriving at ports from Great Britain introduced at the start of 2021.
Twelve staff assisting officials from Stormont's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and UK Border Force with checks at the port were withdrawn from their duties with immediate effect on Monday.
- Joseph Gamp
JOANNA CHERRY ‘SACKED’ IN SNP WESTMINSTER RESHUFFLE
SNP MP Joanna Cherry said she had been “sacked” from her party’s front bench team at Westminster, as a reshuffled was announced.
Ms Cherry had been the SNP justice and home affairs spokeswoman at Westminster – but was also seen by many as being close to former leader Alex Salmond, as well as having come in for criticism from some for her stance on transgender issues.
The reshuffle revealed that Anne McLaughlin has now been appointed as the party’s Westminster spokeswoman on justice and immigration. It comes after Ms Cherry successfully challenged Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans for the prorogation of Parliament in 2019.
As the SNP Westminster reshuffle was announced, Ms Cherry tweeted: “Despite hard work, results & a strong reputation I’ve been sacked today from @theSNP front bench.”
She added: “Westminster is increasingly irrelevant to Scotland’s constitutional future and @theSNP would do well to radically rethink our strategy.”
- Joseph Gamp
BRITAIN AT FRONT OF QUEUE TO JOIN £9TRILLION TRANS-PACIFIC TRADE GROUP
Britain is at the front of the queue to join a £9trillion trade area under post-Brexit plans to unleash a jobs and business boost.
PM Boris Johnson last night heralded our bid to join the Trans-Pacific pact as demonstrating “our ambition” to forge new global partnerships.
Formal talks, to start within months, would ultimately trigger cuts in tariffs in industries such as food, drink, cars and tech industries.
The UK would form closer alliances with 11 current members including Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
Our trade last year with the group was worth £111billion, according to government figures.
- Joseph Gamp
UK FASHION LEADERS WARN OF 'DECIMATION' FROM BREXIT
Britain's fashion industry is "at real risk of decimation" by the post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union and current government policy, a leading forum warned on Monday.
More than 400 industry figures signed an open letter from the Fashion Roundtable to Prime Minister Boris Johnson arguing there was a "gaping hole" in his deal where free movement of goods and services for creatives should have been.
They said the agreement, finalised on Christmas Eve just a week before the UK left the bloc's single market and customs union, had failed to deliver on promises of frictionless future trade.
Their concerns echo those of other sectors, from music to fisheries, who argue the new bureaucratic regime is endangering the future of their industries.
"We have been disregarded in this deal and our concerns overlooked in current policy decisions," their letter said. "We call on the government to stand by their commitment to frictionless work travel for British creatives, including the fashion and textile industry and their equipment."
- Sarah Grealish
EU U-TURN
The European Commission was forced into an embarrassing U-turn on Friday when it backtracked on an attempt to restrict the free flow of goods across the Irish border.
Senior European politicians have conceded it was a mistake to try to unilaterally suspend part of Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol to prevent the region being used as backdoor to move vaccines from the bloc into the UK.
- Sarah Grealish
CAMPAIGNERS CALL FOR MORE PROTECTION OF UK MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
Campaigners have been calling for greater protection of the UK’s marine protected areas, which are designated for their important habitats such as sandbanks, coral gardens and reefs, and the wildlife they support.
Conservationists warn that the network of protected areas in the seas consists largely of “paper parks”, where harmful activity such as bottom trawling – in which weighted nets are dragged over the seabed, ploughing it up to catch fish – continues.
- Joseph Gamp
STAFF WITHDRAWN AFTER PEOPLE 'SPOTTED TAKING DOWN NUMBER PLATES' OF THEIR VEHICLES
Twelve council staff assisting officials from Stormont's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and UK Border Force with checks at Larne Port were withdrawn from their duties with immediate effect on Monday.
The council said the ongoing situation has caused "extreme distress and worry to staff", and it has "no option but to withdraw them from their duties in order to fulfil its duty of care and carry out a full risk assessment with the PSNI, Food Standards Agency and DAERA".
In addition to concerns over the recent graffiti it is understood staff expressed concerns that individuals had been spotted taking down their number plates.
- Joseph Gamp
BREAKING: STAFF AT LARNE PORT WITHDRAWN FROM INSPECTION DUTIES FOLLOWING GROWING TENSIONS IN LOCAL AREA
Local council staff at Larne Port in Northern Ireland are being withdrawn from inspection duties over concerns for their safety and welfare.
In a statement Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said the decision was made following an upsurge in "sinister and menacing behaviour" in recent weeks, including the appearance of graffiti within the local area referencing increasing tensions around the Northern Ireland Protocol and describing port staff as "targets".
- Joseph Gamp
UK WILL BE 'GENEROUS AROUND THE WORLD' WITH VACCINE SUPPLIES – MATT HANCOCK
The UK will be "generous around the world" with its vaccine supplies while ensuring its population is protected, the Health Secretary has said.
Matt Hancock said that while he was "delighted" at the UK's vaccination success, he believed that rollout was "fundamentally… a global effort".
It comes after officials from the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged the Government to pause its vaccination programme after protecting the most vulnerable groups to ensure global rollout is fair.
Mr Hancock said the number of vaccines on order was "obviously more than the UK population needs. My attitude has always been we protect every UK citizen as fast as we can and at the same time we're generous around the world," he said.
"I want to say this to our international partners: of course I'm delighted about how well this is going at home but I believe that fundamentally the vaccine rollout is a global effort."
- Joseph Gamp
FRENCH MINISTER IMPLIES BRITAIN FORGED AHEAD BECAUSE IT CHOSE TO CUT CORNERS
Mr Beaune, who is a close confidante of the French President, tried to imply the UK has only forged ahead because it chose to cut corners.
He told TV station France Inter: "It's got nothing to do with Brexit. The Brits are in an extremely difficult health situation.
"They are taking a lot of risks during their vaccination campaign, I can understand that.
"Clearly because they're in a difficult health situation, they're taking these extra risks.
"I don't think our public would accept that we take all those risks against the advice of our scientists."
- Joseph Gamp
FRANCE TRIES TO DISCREDIT UK VACCINE DRIVE
FRANCE has desperately tried to discredit Britain’s vaccination drive as criticism of Emmanuel Macron mounts over its own floundering jabs rollout.
Europe minister Clement Beaune claimed his country is only lagging behind the UK because No 10 is "taking a lot of risks" to race ahead.
He made the remarks after it was put to him that Britain's performance on getting jabs into arms compared to the EU is "the best advert for Brexit".
They risk reigniting tensions between Britain and Europe over the vaccine rollout after Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen tried to cool the spat.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
JOANNA CHERRY 'SACKED' IN SNP WESTMINSTER RESHUFFLE
SNP MP Joanna Cherry said she had been "sacked" from her party's front bench team at Westminster, as a reshuffled was announced.
Ms Cherry had been the SNP justice and home affairs spokeswoman at Westminster – but was also seen by many as being close to former leader Alex Salmond, as well as having come in for criticism from some for her stance on transgender issues.
The reshuffle revealed that Anne McLaughlin has now been appointed as the party's Westminster spokeswoman on justice and immigration. It comes after Ms Cherry successfully challenged Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plans for the prorogation of Parliament in 2019.
As the SNP Westminster reshuffle was announced, Ms Cherry tweeted: "Despite hard work, results & a strong reputation I've been sacked today from @theSNP front bench."
She added: "Westminster is increasingly irrelevant to Scotland's constitutional future and @theSNP would do well to radically rethink our strategy."
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