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The UK government has refused a request by Stormont’s unionist parties to trigger a post-Brexit mechanism, known as the Stormont Brake, to prevent a European Union law coming into force in Northern Ireland. Unionist MLAs had backed a DUP motion before Christmas to pull the brake in a bid to stop new EU rules on packaging and labelling of chemicals, such as house cleaning materials and industrial chemicals. On Monday, Northern Secretary Hilary Benn announced that legal tests had not been met to use the mechanism, which is contained in...

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn has announced the Stormont Brake will not be pulled over a new EU law (James Manning/PA) The UK Government has announced the Stormont Brake mechanism of the Windsor Framework will not be pulled to halt the appliance of new EU rules on packaging and labelling of chemicals in Northern Ireland. Unionists in the Northern Ireland Assembly had requested in December that the Government consider applying the brake over the EU amending legislation which will apply to the labelling and packaging of chemicals...