Tobacco and Vapes Bill ‘Risks Breaking International Law’ – Guido Fawkes

Tobacco and Vapes Bill ‘Risks Breaking International Law’

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Former Tory Justice Minister Robert Buckland has intervened today to claim the Tobacco and Vapes Bill risks breaking international law and unravelling the Windsor Framework. Buckland previously supported the Bill in principle, but has said the legislation is “constitutionally incoherent” and “legally indefensible”…

The crux of the issue is a clash with the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive, which applies to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework. While the Bill would criminalise sales to anyone born after 2008, EU law requires that tobacco remains legal for adults over 18. Back we go to the Windsor Framework debates…

Buckland said:

“If Parliament pushes ahead with this Bill as-is, we are heading straight for the courts. Northern Ireland’s courts have already shown they will strike down UK laws that conflict with the Framework. That is not theoretical, it’s real, it’s recent, and it’s relevant. The Government must hit pause. Either negotiate an exemption through the UK-EU Joint Committee or remove Northern Ireland from the scope of the Bill. Anything else is reckless.”

What a day for a flagship Labour policy to be hitting the buffers…