UK presses on with Brexit rules rewrite; EU calls it illegal

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain is pressing on with a plan to rip up parts of the post-Brexit trade deal it signed with the European Union. Legislation that rewrites trade rules for Northern Ireland is scheduled to get its first major House of Commons debate on Monday. If approved, the legislation would remove checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. Britain says the rules are burdening businesses and undermining peace in Northern Ireland. The EU says it’s illegal for the U.K. to unilaterally scrap the agreement, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed before Britain left the EU in 2020. The bloc has threatened to retaliate, raising the specter of a trade war.