London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 20, 2025

M&S chair: Brexit protocol will leave gaps on shelves in Northern Ireland

M&S chair: Brexit protocol will leave gaps on shelves in Northern Ireland

Retailer already planning to delist some Christmas products after grace period ends, says Archie Norman
Shops in Northern Ireland will have gaps on the shelves when the grace period in the Brexit protocol ends, the chair of Marks & Spencer has warned.

Ahead of a government statement on the issue, Archie Norman said the retailer was already planning not to supply some Christmas products to Northern Ireland because of the risk that fresh food will be impeded under forthcoming arrangements.

He said: “This Christmas, I can tell you already, we’re having to make decisions to delist product for Northern Ireland because it’s simply not worth the risk of trying to get it through.

“We’ve already made that decision. We’re waiting to see how serious it’s going to be but if it’s anything like southern Ireland [the Republic of Ireland], and at the moment it’s set to be, then it’s going to be very, very serious for customers.”

He told the BBC: “It risks being incendiary for the public in Northern Ireland because you can’t think of a more visible demonstration of how you’re no longer a full part of the United Kingdom than [when] you can’t get your favourite Christmas products, you can’t buy M&S chicken, free-range eggs, sandwiches.”

In a letter to the Brexit minister David Frost, Norman said the current EU customs arrangements were “totally unsuited and were never designed for a modern fresh food supply chain between closely intertwined trading partners”.

He said M&S now completed 40,000 pages of customs documents a week to get goods into Ireland, and that would increase to 120,000 when the full rules for Northern Ireland started.

Lord Frost, the architect of the Brexit protocol, and Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, are due to make a statement warning they may in future unilaterally override the protocol requiring onerous checks if a simplified agreement cannot be struck.

The protocol, agreed by Johnson in 2019, effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU single market for goods and has forced M&S to employ vets to tick boxes and fill out forms.

On Tuesday night, the prime minister called on the EU to “address the serious issues that have arisen” with Brexit in Northern Ireland, as he prepared to publish a blueprint aimed at re-engineering the protocol.

So far EU leaders have urged Johnson to abide by the protocol or sign up to compromises that would mean a degree of alignment with the EU rulebook for the whole UK.

According to reports, the blueprint will include a proposal for an “honesty box” approach whereby it is accepted on trust that goods from big supermarkets or other trusted suppliers destined for Northern Ireland are accepted as remaining in the region.

This is unlikely to be accepted by the EU given its recent protestations that the UK has eroded trust by taking unilateral decisions on the protocol.

A Downing Street spokesperson said Johnson told the Irish taoiseach, Micheál Martin, on Tuesday that the protocol was “causing significant disruption” and pragmatism was needed to solve the post-Brexit issue.

The spokesperson said of Johnson’s phone call with Martin: “He made clear the UK government’s commitment to protecting the Belfast [Good Friday] agreement in all its dimensions.

“He said the EU must show pragmatism and solutions needed to be found to address the serious challenges that have arisen with the protocol.”

A spokesperson for the taoiseach told Johnson the UK’s statements on the protocol would be carefully considered but stressed the importance of the EU-UK framework for issues related to it.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
×