Diane Dodds hits out at Hilary Benn over his description of DUP policy as 'magical thinking'

Upper Bann DUP MLA Diane Dodds - a former Stormont economy minister - has hit out at the NI Secretary over his description of her party's mutual enforcement policy as 'magical thinking'. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.Upper Bann DUP MLA Diane Dodds - a former Stormont economy minister - has hit out at the NI Secretary over his description of her party's mutual enforcement policy as 'magical thinking'. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.
Upper Bann DUP MLA Diane Dodds - a former Stormont economy minister - has hit out at the NI Secretary over his description of her party's mutual enforcement policy as 'magical thinking'. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.
​Hilary Benn’s criticism of mutual enforcement as an alternative to the current post-Brexit trading arrangements within the UK demonstrates “despicable double standards”, according to a DUP MLA.

Diane Dodds was responding to comments by the Secretary of State on Tuesday – where he said suggestions of mutual enforcement were “magical thinking”.

The Labour politician said “it isn’t going to work on the basis of mutual enforcement. You have to have an arrangement that gives both countries confidence that goods coming into their jurisdiction are going to meet the rules that country has set for itself, or in the case of the European Union, the EU has set. The Windsor Framework really was a big step forward.

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All three unionist parties in the Assembly favour the current trade arrangements being scrapped and replaced with a form of mutual enforcement – which they say would remove the need for physical checks on goods moving within the United Kingdom, as well as keeping the land border with the Republic of Ireland open.

Upper Bann MLA Mrs Dodds has said that given that the government’s has implemented similar arrangements to control the flow of goods from Northern Ireland into the rest of the UK – an outworking of the Safeguarding the Union deal – Mr Benn’s comments highlighted double standards.

In a post on social media platform X, the DUP politician said: “​Our British [Secretary of State] mimics Michel Barnier’s ‘magical thinking’ put down. Yet his own Government’s guidance on non qualifying goods entering GB through Northern Ireland is based on an intelligence led approach. Despicable double standards”.

From 24 February 2025, non-qualifying Northern Ireland goods that enter Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) from Northern Ireland will move under SPS controls.

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Goods which qualify under the UK internal market rules will “continue to benefit from unfettered market access”, the government says.

The government’s plans aim to reduce checks on animal products and give officials the ability to carry out the checks inland – away from border control posts.

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