The prime minister’s plan to override the Northern Ireland protocol is a tired repeat of the dishonesty that got him elected
One day, when Boris Johnson is no longer prime minister and the full catalogue of his frauds is compiled, a special place will belong to one that got him elected in the first place. Before he attended any lockdown parties, before there were pandemic rules to break or lies to tell about the breakage, there was the promise to Get Brexit Done.
It is not done. That is why Johnson’s government is drafting a law that would give ministers the power to override the Northern Ireland protocol of the Brexit deal. This is the very treaty that Johnson hailed as “great”, “excellent”, a fulfilment of all his negotiating ambitions. If that were true, he would not now be planning to set it on fire.
Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist
