Mr Hague warned even staunch Brexiteers were against the bill which could see domestic UK law contradict international law, such as the Good Friday Agreement that saw the end of conflict in Northern Ireland. Mr Hague pointed referenced former attorney general and ardent Brexiteer Geoffrey Cox, who has warned the Prime Minister “it is unconscionable that this country, justly famous for its regard for the rule of law around the world, should act in such a way”. The former Foreign Secretary agreed with the Northern Ireland Secretary in saying it would be “a serious foreign policy error to deliberately abrogate and international treaty”.
Mr Hauge said he relied on international law on a daily basis during his time in Westminster.
He cited the many treaties, conventions, and agreements the UK has made with other nations and how they are crucial in dealing with incidents such as prisoner release, as in the case of British citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, still held in Iran.
International law, Mr Hague claimed, was crucial in ensuring a level playing field in international taxation, or confiscation of assets, or discriminatory exclusion from a domestic market.
When China breaches international maritime law in the South China Sea, the UK is able to call Beijing out on its breach.
The Conservative MP described how the UK could not lecture China on its breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration with its nefarious New Security Law if Britain in turn breached the Good Friday Agreement with the Internal Market Bill.
Mr Hague wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “It is on a similar basis that the UK today objects to acts of aggression, such as the use of chemical weapons by Assad.
“Or, the breach of treaties, as seen in China’s recent actions in Hong Kong.”
Mr Hague suggested the Prime Minister was endangering Britain’s reputation and standing in the world by introducing the Internal Market Bill.
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“More than most countries we need to know that laws are kept and debts are paid.”
Mr Hague explained that it would be difficult for future UK Foreign Secretaries to speak with authority if the nation breaches international law.
He said: “Whenever I spoke as Foreign Secretary about the upholding of laws and treaties, to the UN or any errant state, I did so with the utter confidence that my country stood on solid ground.
“We undermine that ground at our peril.”
