Professor Imelda Maher:

The famous quote: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." The expectation on the part of the UK after the referendum was that it could divide and conquer the EU, metaphorically speaking. That has proved singularly not to be the case.

The Deputy is right. There is an inherent tension as we move into phase 2 - assuming we get through phase 1 - with the desire of the UK Government to enter into international trade agreements, one of which will be with the EU. It has obligations vis-à-visthe Northern Irish arrangement, but its obligations in respect of the EU more broadly will be defined by the withdrawal agreement and, in particular, the trade agreement. The question is partly about sequencing. Politically, the committee is better placed to answer that question than I am, given that I am just a lawyer. How quickly will the UK Government start discussions with the US? Technically, it is not meant to have started them yet. Another question is how it will process its engagement with the EU. Professor Hervey is right about there being a tension in that regard. This has to be done in packages. Different packages will emerge at different points. At the same time, the experience of the EU negotiating with the UK in the past two years is that it will not allow the UK to cherry-pick. That would be played out more in the political arena and reflected in the legal framework rather than the law dictating it.