THE European Union has launched legal action against Boris Johnson’s Government for breaching the Brexit withdrawal treaty.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, announced the UK had been put on formal notice over the Internal Market Bill tabled by the Prime Minister last month.

The Commission had given Johnson until the end of September to ditch the contentious clauses in the draft legislation, and Von der Leyen yesterday said the deadline had lapsed.

By seeking to unilaterally change the terms of the agreement signed last year with Brussels, the UK had failed to live up to its obligations to act in “good faith”, Von der Leyen said.

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The former German defence minister said the UK had a month to respond to the Commission’s letter of notice, which marks the beginning of a formal infringement process.

“We had invited our British friends to remove the problematic parts of their draft Internal Market Bill by the end of September,” she said. “This draft bill is, by its very nature, a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down in the Withdrawal Agreement. Moreover, if adopted as is, it will be in full contradiction to the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.”

She added: “The problematic provisions have not been removed. Therefore this morning the Commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK Government. This is the first step in an infringement procedure.”

Von der Leyen had previously warned a No-Deal Brexit would be the consequence of any backtracking, saying implementing the Withdrawal Agreement was a “prerequisite” in order for the UK to get a free trade deal.

The Internal Market Bill would give ministers legal powers to override two elements of the Northern Ireland protocol, which Johnson agreed last October in order to avoid a return to a hard border in Ireland.

The Government has admitted the legislation breaches international law and the bill has already led to resignations from its top lawyers.

The Commission’s letter is the start of a process that could ultimately end in the European Court of Justice. The EU court in Luxembourg also has the power to impose hefty fines. The UK agreed to be bound by decisions of the court on cases begun before the end of the transition period on December 31 and for four years after.

Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said only independence could protect Scotland from Johnson’s “extreme Brexit disaster”.

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He said: “Boris Johnson is taking the UK towards an extreme Brexit disaster and total humiliation – ruining our international reputation and threatening the economy with the hardest of Brexits.”

He added: “This extreme Tory Brexit hammer blow will come at the worst possible time – hitting the UK in the middle of a global pandemic when many businesses are already struggling to survive. Scotland has been completely ignored by Westminster throughout the Brexit process. It is now beyond doubt the only way to protect Scotland’s interests and our place in Europe is to become an independent country.”

A UK Government spokesman said it would respond to the letter, adding: “We have clearly set out our reasons for introducing the measures related to the Northern Ireland protocol. We need to create a legal safety net to protect the integrity of the UK’s internal market, ensure ministers can always deliver on their obligations to Northern Ireland and protect the gains from the peace process.”