Dame Priti Patel says Windsor Framework posed "risk to the integrity" of UK
The former Home Secretary also said the government needs to act to over the "tentacles of EU control over Northern Ireland."
Last updated 29th Nov 2023
Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel says she voted against the Windsor Framework because it "posed a risk to the integrity of our United Kingdom".
Writing for the Unionist Voice website, she also said the government needs to act to over the "tentacles of EU control over Northern Ireland."
Her comments come as efforts to restore a functioning executive continue.
The DUP walked away from Stormont last year due their concerns with post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Since then, the DUP has been in discussions with the government about how a return to power-sharing could be possible.
On Tuesday, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris indicated the talks with Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's party were in their "final, final stages".
He also told our Political Reporter James Gould that he "wished" he had a deal with Mr Donaldson but added that it still wasn't the case.
Dame Priti went on to say, while both the UK Government and the EU "have so far shown little interest in reopening the Windsor Framework", she said "the economic pressures of friction to trade and the political need to get the Northern Ireland Assembly up and running again should move this up their list of priorities".
"No business should face a barrier or restriction to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and more work is needed to achieve this outcome," she said.
"Technology, common sense and a dose of good faith should be at the forefront of the solutions needed to remove these barriers and put an end to the tentacles of EU control over Northern Ireland," she added.