Baker told the Tory party conference that he and others in the party had shown no respect for the “legitimate interests” of Ireland or the EU during the campaign to leave the bloc. The Northern Ireland minister said it was time to rebuild the UK’s relationship with Ireland and ensure the two countries move forward as “closer partners and friends”. “I was one who perhaps acted with the most ferocious determination to get the UK out of the EU, I think we need to show humility in this situation,” said the former chairman of the Brexit hardliners European Research Group (ERG). “And I humbly want to accept and acknowledge that I and others have not always behaved in a way that has encouraged Ireland and the European Union to trust us to accept that they have legitimate interests, legitimate interests that we are willing to respect, because they do and we are willing to respect them. “And I regret that because relations with Ireland are not where they should be and we’re going to have to work extremely hard to improve them and I know we are,” he said. The transformation into Baker, the peacemaker, will surprise many of the Conservatives and others in the UK, Ireland and the EU who have watched the ERG’s efforts to finalize Brexit under Theresa May’s government. Lord Gavin Barwell, May’s former chief of staff, tweeted that Baker’s apology was “long overdue but no less welcome for that”. The ERG blocked May’s bid to reach a UK-wide solution to the Irish border issue, dubbed the “backstop”, but supported Boris Johnson’s protocol that left the border under the Irish Sea. He would later admit that he did it to get through Brexit and on the basis that he could renegotiate it at a later date. Baker’s words suggest Liz Truss has downplayed the row over the Northern Ireland protocol and may have dropped her threat to introduce new laws to unilaterally scrap part of the Withdrawal Agreement. He was speaking on stage alongside new Northern Ireland minister Christopher Heaton-Harris, who said talks between the EU and the UK reopened last Friday “with gusto”. Earlier on Sunday, Ireland captain Micheál Martin said he detected a genuine desire from Truss to resolve the impasse over the Northern Ireland protocol after an intense round of diplomacy in recent weeks. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Baker said the death of the Queen, who had played a major role in reconciliation between Ireland and the UK, was a reminder of how important harmonious relations with neighboring countries were. “The death of our late Majesty gave us an opportunity to meet leading Irish figures, and I said to some of them, ‘I am sorry we have not always respected your legitimate interests.’ “That combination of humility and determination and that willingness to build relationships and say, actually, yes, we want to be Ireland’s closest friends and partners as we all respect … the Good Friday Belfast Agreement,” Baker said. . But he said the EU and Ireland should not underestimate the UK’s determination to get rid of trade barriers that had been built up on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. “The counterpoint to that [humility] is decisive. “No one should underestimate our determination, the determination of this government, to make progress on the protocol.”
