MICHAEL Gove has been compared to Bart Simpson over his government’s handling of Brexit.
SNP MP Owen Thomson said the Cabinet Office minister was like the cartoon character, by “causing chaos” and claiming “I didn’t do it” when things go wrong.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Thompson, MP for Midlothian said: “While the minister is telling Northern Ireland it can have the best of both worlds, he’s using the same reasoning to tell Scotland to shut up and get back in your box – all while claiming any negative impacts are not actually Brexit-related.
“Is it now the case the minister has become the Government’s very own Bart Simpson, causing chaos and presenting their agenda regardless of cost while claiming ‘I didn’t do it, nobody saw me do it, you can’t prove anything’?”
The SNP has repeatedly asked the Government today why Scotland cannot retain access to the EU single market in the way Northern Ireland has been able to, including raising the issue at Scottish and Prime Minister’s Questions.
Mr Gove replied to Mr Thomson that his favourite Simpson’s character was Groundskeeper Willie, adding that he did not know what his stance would be on independence for Scotland.
Alison Thewliss, SNP MP for Glasgow Central, could be heard shouting: “He supports independence.”
Mr Gove replied: “I’m not sure what his position is on independence, but as jannies go, he’s one of the best.”
The minister was updating MPs in the Commons on the agreement in principle reached yesterday with the vice-president of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic, which sets out how Northern Ireland will be treated following the end of the transition period.
MPs heard that the EU would not have an embassy in Northern Ireland, but officials would be allowed at border checks.
Mr Gove said that there would be a three-month “grace period” for supermarkets and traders “in order to make sure that they are ready for any health export certificate requirements”.
He said: “The agreement respects the protocol provisions, endorsed by Parliament, that allows some EU officials to be present at Northern Ireland ports as UK authorities carry out our own procedures.
“And let me be clear, there will be no Belfast mini embassy or mission as some in the EU originally sought and the EU officials will not have any powers to carry out checks themselves.”
The protocol is due to come into effect from the start of next year and is set to keep Northern Ireland in line with some EU regulations on the single market to allow an open border and free flow of goods and services across the island.
While Mr Gove insisted the agreements with the EU would protect “unfettered access” for Northern Irish businesses, Labour said Government documents showed that a range of checks would be needed and his could cause upheaval for firms in the new year.
The Prime Minister previously vowed not to agree to terms that would allow checks to be carried out on goods travelling between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, telling businesses to personally phone him if border officials asked to see their papers.
Rachel Reeves, Opposition shadow minister to Mr Gove, said: “Could the minister explain why today’s documents confirm that on trade from GB-NI, there will indeed be a range of checks and indeed the trusted trader scheme will be removed after three-and-a-half years and reviewed then, with further uncertainty at that point.
Ms Reeves added: “This all begs the question, did the Prime Minister actually know what he had signed up to last year and gave false assurances to this House or did he simply not care?”
The joint committee work has been separate from the post-Brexit trade talks but Mr Gove told Sky News that the protocol breakthrough meant there was a “smoother glide path” towards a potential deal with Brussels.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel