Northern Ireland

Westminster committee says 'world-first' technology could solve border problem but Labour MP is sceptical

John Grogan said hopes for a technological solution to the border were based on a 'wing and a prayer'
John Grogan said hopes for a technological solution to the border were based on a 'wing and a prayer' John Grogan said hopes for a technological solution to the border were based on a 'wing and a prayer'

A WESTMINSTER committee claims a "world-first" technological solution could solve the vexed issue of the post-Brexit border if all sides adopt a shared position of trust and goodwill.

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee's report on the backstop and the implications of a hard border concludes that a method for checking goods and keeping the north-south frontier frictionless "could be designed, trialled and piloted within the 21-month implementation period".

However, the committee notes that implementation of what have become known as alternative solutions would not be a simple, quick-fix and would instead constitute highly-sophisticated, pioneering technology and a "substantial achievement".

But a Labour member of the committee of MPs has said his colleagues' hopes for a technological solution are "very much based on a wing and a prayer" .

John Grogan said MPs received "very conflicting evidence" on how quickly the technology could be developed and deployed.

He said the report was "aimed largely at wavering Conservative MPs" who were unsure whether to back Theresa May in next week's vote on the withdrawal agreement.

The MP for Keighley said during a previous inquiry, the committee investigated different border systems across the world, looking for a working model of an infrastructure-free border that could be adapted to meet Ireland's needs.

"In our report published just a year ago we concluded that `we have had no visibility of any technical solutions, anywhere in the world, beyond the aspirational, that would remove the need for physical infrastructure at the border'," Mr Grogan said.

"I see no reason to change that judgement. In reality the report is aimed largely at wavering Conservative MPs unsure whether to back the prime minister in next week's vote."

He said that if the British government was serious about the gradual development of technology to address checks at the border, then the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference would be an ideal forum to start discussions.

"I think in our deliberations we were sometimes in danger of forgetting there are two sides to every border," he said.

According to the committee, the key obstacle to finding a technical solution to the border is a lack of trust and goodwill.

Its report claims that the UK and EU have taken different approaches to the stated joint aim of avoiding a hard border, which the MPs say may indicate a difference in the overall desired outcome from the Brexit process and also of what is understood to be a hard border.

The report stresses that ultimately the UK and the EU must agree on a definition of hard border and that the definition would help to build trust and facilitate shared understanding of what a future relationship, that can supersede the backstop, could look like.

The committee recommends amending the political declaration to make it clear that the backstop is intended only as a means of avoiding a hard border and that it should not be interpreted as a given in negotiating the future UK-EU relationship.

NI Affairs Committee chairman Andrew Murrison said time to reach common ground was running out.

"There should be no attempt to use the border as a lever or as a way of securing political advantage. Mistrust over the backstop protocol has been heightened by lack of clarity on what exactly constitutes a hard border," he said

"My committee is calling for clarification of the term in a legally explicit way to ensure both parties share the same understanding of how the backstop can be avoided."