SHADOW justice secretary David Lammy urged his government counterpart Robert Buckland to “protect the rule of law” today after the Tories announced plans to override the EU Withdrawal Agreement (WA) with new legislation.

The Internal Markets Bill, published today, would axe requirements for new customs arrangements in the north of Ireland and would end the WA’s legitimacy in areas such as state aid.

The north of Ireland is currently supposed to adhere to some EU regulations after the transition period ends on December 31, in a bid to stop a “hard border” with the Republic.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said that the party was looking at “potential amendments” to the Bill amid “serious concerns” over the “implications of devolution and the Northern Ireland protocol.”

Senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood also warned PM Boris Johnson not to breach international law over his Brexit deal, saying that it would “go against everything we believe in.”

Mr Johnson fought the last general election claiming that he had an “oven-ready” Brexit agreement.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said he was “comfortable” with Britain being willing to break international law on the WA, claiming that it was necessary to preserve peace in Ireland if a trade deal with the EU is not struck.

Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that the government was a “bunch of incompetent and unscrupulous chancers” who would be “trashing the UK’s international reputation” by implementing the Bill.

Mr Johnson’s official spokesman denied that the Bill amounts to a power grab and said that Holyrood, Stormont and Cardiff Bay would benefit from powers returned from Brussels.

The European Commission, which said the WA was “not open for renegotiation," called for urgent talks over the Bill, which Downing Street said it would agree to.