Brandon Lewis

Incoming DUP leader Edwin Poots has held talks with the Northern Ireland secretary in Belfast. Poots had requested the face-to-face meeting with Brandon Lewis to discuss Brexit’s contentious Northern Ireland Protocol and a series of other issues. The Lagan Valley MLA has said removing the Protocol, which governs Irish Sea trade, will be his main […]

Brexit minister Lord Frost has once again urged the EU to take a “common sense, risk-based approach” to the Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland. He said the UK and the EU must find a solution “rapidly” after he and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis met business and community representatives in Northern Ireland during the two-day […]

There have been further calls for calm after another night of violence in Northern Ireland which left another 19 police officers injured. Secretary of state Brandon Lewis is to meet Stormont political parties to discuss the situation. The violence was at a lower level on Thursday evening than it had been on Wednesday, but officers […]

Rioters have been blasted with a water cannon by police as unrest continued on the streets of Northern Ireland. After shocking scenes provoked calls for calm this week, violence again flared up on the streets of west Belfast, amid rising tensions in the area. Stones and fireworks were thrown at police by gangs of youths […]

Brandon Lewis is flying to Belfast to hold emergency talks with the main political parties as well as faith and community leaders in an attempt to quell a spate of violence. PA reports that the Northern Ireland secretary will meet with first minister Arlene Foster, from the DUP, and deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill, from Sinn […]

Downing Street needs to be more transparent over the evidence needed to call a referendum on uniting Ireland, an expert has said. Professor Colin Harvey, a professor of Human Rights Law, has called for the UK to collaborate with Dublin to ensure voters are adequately prepared. He wanted to avoid a repeat of the “mess” surrounding the […]

The Northern Ireland secretary has failed to explain the legal grounds for scrapping Brexit customs checks in the Irish Sea. Brandon Lewis was asked to clarify which part of the Northern Ireland Protocol would allow the UK to renege on its committment on customs checks – amid claims it could be breaching international law. “Is it […]

Stormont’s agriculture minister has described the Northern Ireland secretary in Westminster as the “emperor with no clothes” after he said trade disruptions across the Irish Sea were due to Covid-19, and not Brexit. Edwin Poots said Brandon Lewis was “the emperor with no clothes – but instead of a small boy pointing out he’s naked, the […]

Piers Morgan has criticised a minister who said it was ‘too early’ for international comparisons of the UK’s Covid death rate – but not over its vaccination drive – as he demanded answers for why the numbers were so high. Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis said it was “just too early” to compare the UK’s […]

The secretary of state for Northern Ireland Brandon Lews has denied empty shop shelves in the country are because of Brexit. There have been calls from action from the government to resolve the trade chaos in the country following the end of the transition period which severed links between the EU and UK. But Lewis […]

Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal is “very unstable” and could see the UK miss out on millions of pounds worth of investment, a legal expert has warned. EU legal scholar Catherine Barnard told MPs companies may be put off investing in the UK because of unresolved questions on tariffs and trade. This comes as customs professionals […]

Another Tory minister is self-isolating just one day after he was spotted flouting rules on masks. Brandon Lewis – the Northern Ireland secretary – was witnessed in a chauffeur car without a face mask, despite Downing Street saying tthat they must cover up when travelling in government vehicles, despite a loophole in the rules for chauffer-driven cars. […]

Brandon Lewis has been forced to explain himself after being pictured travelling in his ministerial car without a face mask. Downing Street has told ministers that they must cover up when travelling in government vehicles, despite a loophole in the rules for chauffer-driven cars. A source close to the minister said he had removed his mask […]

Northern Ireland minister Brandon Lewis has dismissed claims that Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill will not break international law, adding the government’s legal advice states it clearly will. Speaking to a Commons committee on Northern Ireland, Lewis contradicted home secretary Priti Patel and Tory peer Richard Keen – the Tory advocate general for Scotland – over […]

Another top Tory legal official has resigned over Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill. Lord Richard Keen, who is the Tory advocate general for Scotland, said he had handed in his resignation Wednesday morning. Speaking to the Scottish paper the Press and Journal, he said: “I tendered my resignation to the prime minister first thing this morning, […]