Truss: Determined To Deliver Northern Ireland Protocol In Full

Liz Truss, the frontrunner to win the Conservative Party leadership battle and become the next UK Prime Minister, has told Conservative Party members at hustings in Belfast, Northern Ireland that she is determined to deliver the Northern Ireland Protocol in full after speculation that she may back away from confrontation with the EU.

• Dan Bloom of the Mirror: "On the protocol impasse, Liz Truss says "I will not accept anything that doesn’t deliver on the key issues I talked about" - no EU courts, "free flowing" trade East/West, and NI benefiting from the tax benefits delivered by the UK government."
• Truss said the bill is a “a priority for government to deliver," but conceded that, “it might take time to get bill through the House of Lords.”
• Yesterday, the Belfast News Letter reported that Truss declined to vow, "to prevent attempts externally or by the House of Lords to water down a bill to radically alter the Northern Ireland Protocol."
• Truss' position may have been influenced by the hardline taken by fellow Tory leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak who vowed to resist pressure from Brussels and Washington. Sunak said: “I will not bow to pressure from Brussels or Washington. I am an experienced international negotiator, and you can trust me to deliver.”