MP hosts fringe meeting at Tory party conference
North Shropshire MP, Owen Paterson, hosted a Northern Ireland debated in a fringe event at the Tory Party Conference last night .
The former Northern Ireland secretary of state, Mr Paterson, abstained in the Brexit vote because of his concerns over Northern Ireland.
He had been a staunch Brexiteer but he said he could not vote for a measure that divided the UK.
A member of the Brexit Central group the MP together with Iain Duncan-Smith MP, welcomed Lord Frost, to a meeting at a Manchester Hotel.
Earlier in the day, Lord Frost warned the EU that the UK 'cannot wait forever' for post-Brexit border checks in Northern Ireland. The Government's Brexit chief revealed he had finalised proposals to permanently replace the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol.
Mr Paterson said that Lord Frost was right that the Northern Ireland Protocol was not working and was creating instability.
"Cross-party support has collapsed and without significant change, the Government will act and trigger Article 16."
The protocol, agreed as part of the Brexit deal, requires checks on goods travelling from GB to Northern Ireland to be carried out at ports in order to avoid the return of a land border with the Republic.
But it has caused disruption to trade and angered unionists who have demanded the rules be scrapped, arguing they create a barrier between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
