evidence: For some critics of this ‘backstop’ version of the Protocol, the absence of a consent mechanism ran counter to the spirit if not necessarily the letter of the 1998 Agreement, a central element of which is the principle of consent. This principle is reflected the requirement for the people of Northern Ireland to give their consent for any change in the constitutional status of Northern Ireland – i.e. Northern Ireland leaving the United Kingdom for a united Ireland – and the provisions regarding a ‘petition of concern’ according to which certain legislation can only be adopted by the Northern Ireland Assembly where there is ‘cross-community’ support among the MLAs. The ‘backstop’ Protocol was therefore perceived by some as a breach of the 1998 Agreement. Others were not convinced. Opposition to the differentiated treatment of Northern Ireland and criticism of the absence of any consent mechanism for the Protocol were among the reasons why the May government was unable during the first half of 2019 to secure support for the 2018 version of the Withdrawal Agreement concluded with the EU. May’s successor as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, took up the issue and in August 2019 insisted that the ‘backstop’ Protocol was ‘anti-democratic’ and could not form part of any agreed terms governing the withdrawal from the EU.