New Northern Ireland deal solves ‘Rubik’s Cube’ protocol, says M&S chairman

M&S chairman Archie Norman has welcomed a new deal between the UK and EU as a solution to the “Rubik’s Cube” of the Northern Ireland protocol.

The ‘Windsor Framework’, agreed yesterday by prime minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, is set to replace the NI Protocol signed by Boris Johnson.

The new deal will introduce a so-called ‘green lane and red lane’ system to smooth the flow of goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland while reducing Irish Sea border checks.

British goods intended to stay in Northern Ireland will use the green lane at NI ports, which means they will require less paperwork and no burdensome checks. Other goods headed south of the border to the Republic of Ireland or other EU countries will use the red lane and will have to abide by the bloc’s strict regulations.

Norman said it was a breakthrough after “two years of limbo”.

“The Windsor Framework is a big step forward and fundamentally good news for the people of Northern Ireland and UK businesses serving them,” he said.

Read more: ‘Historic’ Northern Ireland deal breaks Brexit gridlock

“The new proposals outlined by the prime minister solve the Rubik’s Cube of the protocol, and we appreciate the efforts that have been made to understand and address our concerns about the practicalities of fresh food trading. The framework will reduce burdensome checks and controls and will improve product availability, range and freshness in our very strong Northern Ireland food business.”

However, Norman said the government needed to do more to “break down the barriers to trade that still exist”.

“The challenge remains for companies trading with the Republic of Ireland and wider EU, with the added complexity and cost of different labelling requirements,” Norman said.

“That said, today has shown that we can move forward and I hope the UK government and EU can build on this agreement.

“The commitment to use technology to ‘future proof’ the deal, improve processes and reduce frictions is a good first step towards this.”