Paul Givan, who was DUP chief minister until his resignation last month, has strongly backed the government’s calls for changes to the protocol amid concerns that the paper’s requirements are hurting Northern Ireland businesses. Mrs Braverman and Mr Rees-Mogg are both former leaders of the European Investigative Group of the Tory Eurosceptic MEPs. His vice-president, David Jones, said negotiations between Ms Troy and her EU counterpart Maro Sefkovic seemed to be “patched” and that Article 16 should be activated to revive serious negotiations. “We have to find a way out of the mud and the best way to do that is to invoke Article 16, which will be the precursor to a new negotiating mandate from the EU,” he said. “I think it has to be done now.” Lord Hayward said: “In Northern Ireland. “I think there will be real constitutional issues, because for the first time Sinn Féin will actually come out as the largest united party in Northern Ireland.” He described the Union parties as “in complete chaos”, predicting that the Union vote would be split, allowing Sinn Féin to emerge as the largest party. In an interview with the Telegraph, Ms. Tras did not deny that she withdrew the idea of using the mechanism before May 5, merely insisting that Article 16 “remains on the table” as an option.
