Protesters flocked to the streets of London on Sunday to protest the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is part of the Brexit agreement and retains Northern Ireland in the EU's Customs Union.
People gathered in Trafalgar Square and marched to the Prime Minister's Office and Parliament, asking that the protocol, which they claimed threatened the UK's union, be scrapped.
They carried banners that read, among other things, "Stop the Northern Ireland Protocol," "United we stand, divided we fall," and "One crown, one nation, one United Kingdom."
They handed a letter to the Prime Minister's Office with their demands after placing a wreath at the World War I Memorial.
One of the protesters told Anadolu Agency that they wanted to show their support for the UK's union by protesting, underlining that the UK is made up of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
The demonstrator stated that all four are within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, and that Northern Ireland deserves the same treatment, rights, and international treaties as the rest of the country, and that Europe should listen to this and act accordingly.
Another said that the protocol is damaging to Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Protocol requires border checks on all animal and plant-based products, including frozen and processed meat products, before they are transported to Northern Ireland, in accordance with EU rules and regulations.
The protocol establishes a de facto trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom in the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom left the EU on January 31, 2020, as a result of a 2016 referendum that ended the country's more than 40-year membership in the European club.
The Northern Ireland Protocol, which effectively prevented a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, was included in the agreement agreed by the parties.
Earlier this year, loyalist groups in Northern Ireland staged sporadic street protests against the protocol and any checks on products entering from other regions of the UK.
Last month, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Jeffrey Donaldson stated his willingness to bring Stormont (the Northern Ireland Assembly) down if the protocol is not significantly amended, though we will have to wait out to see if he was serious when he made the threat. His deadline was November the 1st.
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