Speeches by Robinson.

“Is that available to everyone?”

“That is a good point. If you were a veteran who had to go to a coroner’s court or ICRIR and you lived in Northern Ireland, would you have the same ability not to attend?”

“You know that I have raised issues around veterans protections. I was at the Northern Ireland veterans awards dinner last Thursday. That extraordinary event was crystallised four years ago by a constituent of mine because he wanted veterans to be more open. He wants them to be out there and seen within their community;…”

“In fairness to you, you have set out your stall on this issue from the time you became Secretary of State. You have spent a lot of time on it. We will differ on aspects, but you have made yourself available to the Committee and to political parties. That should not go unnoticed.”

“Secretary of State, thank you for your engagement on this issue. Do not look surprised—I am extending appreciation.”

“Good morning to you all. Thank you for coming. Ministers, what you have outlined is not the experience that I have. Both of you voted for arrangements that you have since repudiated. On delivering the commitments in “Safeguarding the Union” and commitments that would remove the necessity for checks within the UK intern…”

“Patently not, but it can be so convoluted, complex and unnecessarily burdensome that businesses look elsewhere. When we talk about the internal market guarantee, we want it to mean something. When people talk about the UK internal market, people seem to struggle or to be unable to realise that a marketplace is somewher…”

“Good morning to you all. Thank you for coming. Ministers, what you have outlined is not the experience that I have. Both of you voted for arrangements that you have since repudiated. On delivering the commitments in “Safeguarding the Union” and commitments that would remove the necessity for checks within the UK intern…”

“Secretary of State, that was not the question. I indicated that you have made that commitment. The question is, “When?” We know that this needs to be in place for 1 February, and we have two and a half months of parliamentary time available for that to take place. Will it happen before there is an example of market fai…”

“You supported all that when we had an agreement two years ago, by the way, but that is good—you will get there someday.”

“I know it is not a game. But if you are going to sit there and criticise how other Governments acted, and how we have to suffer greater interventions because of how they acted compared with how you wish to be, I am reminding you that it is our customers, consumers and constituents who have to feel the brunt of those de…”

“But it is our businesses, consumers and citizens that have to suffer the consequences of whatever political game goes on between London and Brussels—whatever Government; whatever game.”

“There are two things on that, Secretary of State. First, you would have to acknowledge that when you backed the “Safeguarding the Union” document, you acknowledged that there was a commitment there to remove checks within the UK internal market system—say for criminality, smuggling or that sort of thing. Secondly, sinc…”

“Shortly thereafter, okay. Intertrade UK is a body to promote intertrade or intra-trade—trade within the UK—but it is also supposed to be a receptacle for businesses that have genuine frustrations and allow them to bring those to a body that can conduct advocacy on their behalf. Secretary of State, are you engaging with…”

“Okay, so it should be in your inbox in the next couple of weeks. What are the plans for publication?”

“You will know that one of the reasons we pushed for the establishment of the Independent Monitoring Panel was to provide an evidential base and to be able to make rigorous arguments when restrictions are wholly unnecessary and disproportionate. Our intention had been that that evidence base would therefore be available…”

“There is an overarching principle that there should be no divergence of trade going back to the protocol, Windsor framework and subsequent agreements. A number of businesses are being encouraged to change their supply lines and find it easier to deal with a foreign economic entity in the Republic of Ireland. That is a …”

“Secretary of State, you just mentioned that businesses are good at working out what works for them. Is that within or outwith the context of no divergence of trade?”

“Okay. I am sure that you are grateful for Ms Johnson’s presence, Secretary of State.”

“If you need to write to us in formal terms, that is fine. What process do you or the Paymaster General engage in when deciding what EU Acts are brought before the Assembly and before the Joint Committee?”