Barnier refutes Johnson's claims over Irish Sea trade checks
No surprise
Barnier actually read the agreement - in fact the EU drafting team wrote it on his instructions
BJ doesn't do detail, as May reportedly complained when he was in her Cabinet
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jan/27/customs-checks-needed-on-irish-sea-trade-after-brexit-eu
Days after the prime minister said there would “emphatically” be no checks on trade across the Irish Sea,
the EU’s chief negotiator told an audience in Belfast that
the UK had agreed to them as part of a “creative and flexible” solution to the Irish border question.
There was no provision for ignoring them in the legal test of the withdrawal agreement,
Barnier said in a speech at Queen’s University.
“In agreeing the [Northern Ireland] protocol, the UK has agreed to a system of reinforced checks and controls for goods entering Northern Irelandd^ from Great Britain.”
“The text is very precise. I always tell the truth,”
Barnier said in response to questions from the media on whether checks could be lifted.
When asked how he felt about Johnson’s repeated claims there would be no checks, he replied:
“I know what is written in this text.”
< is he hinting our PM is telling porkies ? What a surprise >