Lord Frost provides update on Northern Ireland protocol

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The Convention determines which countries have jurisdiction over cross-border civil and commercial disputes, with UK lawyers warning that stopping Britain’s accession to the agreement could cause severe issues for UK and EU families with relations on both sides of the English Channel. The EU has also been told that it will severely harm the UK’s legal system if it blocks Britain’s attempt to join the essential convention.

Rachael Kelsey, president of the European chapter of the International Academy of Family Lawyers told the Financial Times: “A year ago, we could say with total confidence and clarity ‘this court has jurisdiction, this is how long a case will take, and this is the cost ballpark’ — but now that is no longer the case.

“We need to put politics aside and recognise that there are millions of EU and UK citizens who are going to be prejudiced if we don’t end up with a better set of harmonised rules.”

Josep Gálvez, a former Spanish judge, also said the EU’s plan was an attempt to punish the UK for leaving the EU and weaken London’s attraction as a centre for dispute resolution.

And now, Express.co.uk readers have lashed out at Lord Frost with one calling the UK “petrified”.

Reacting to our initial story, one Express.co.uk reader erupted: “Another year of EU rules.

“Frost begging the EU to extend the NI transition. The city still following EU regulations.

“We’ve not left. The government are petrified of actually leaving as they recognise the reality of it.

“It was all to get Boris into No10 and you guys were the useful idiots.”

Another raged: “EU does not always play by its internal treaties.

“UK has left, so nothing to do with UK now, the only thing interesting for UK is EU’s external treaty obligations.

“If EU breaks any number of its internal treaties UK can and should do nothing, it is no longer an issue that UK should get involved in, any more than you should get involved in whether HMG allows Scotland a second independence referendum.”

A third added: “What was the point of the vote if we still have the EU neanderthal regulations.

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“Hurry up Boris the majority getting restless with the lack of ties cut. They voted to be out lock, stock & barrel, we should have dropped everything on 01/01/21.”

While a fourth wrote: “Every time a Brexit related deadline comes the UK bottle it and extend because they did not think things through and cannot handle the pain it would cause.”

Another reader said: “When are these politicians who are being bulled up as the best of the best, going to grow some and just walk away, along with the £40billion the EU wants as a parting gift, enough is enough for us voters.”

It comes as the UK has also extended the deadline for new-post Brexit safety markings in a move that will see Britain aligned with elements of the EU for another year.

In order to ease the pressure on British businesses, the Government has also extended the deadline to use the UKCA certification until 2023.

The Department for Business announced the change in part due to the issues to supply chains caused by the pandemic.

This means, however, the current European CE label will continue to be used until the beginning of 2023 – two years after the end of the transition period.

Ahead of the extension, businesses warned they did not have enough time to apply the changes due to the chaos caused by the pandemic.

It is hoped by extending the deadline, manufacturers will now have adequate time to test goods in order to comply with the 2023 deadline, although companies making medical devices will have until July 2023.

Manufacturers group, Make UK, welcomed the extension despite the UK being tied to the EU for a further year.

A spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “Companies were becoming increasingly nervous as the clock ticked down to the end of the year, caught up in the delays and bureaucracy in getting their products tested.

“The extra year will provide both exporters and importers with valuable breathing space to enable a new testing system to bed in place.”

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