Brexit supporters in Parliament have reacted angrily to Joe Biden’s plan to send a member of the Kennedy dynasty to Northern Ireland as a special envoy and interfere in talks between Britain and the EU.
The move is interpreted as an attempt to put pressure on the UK to accept Brussels’ demands that the province be placed under its jurisdiction and separated from the United Kingdom.
Members of the influential European Research Group (ERG) for Brexiteer Conservative MPs have privately warned against the appointment of a “anti-British” US political clan.
Joe Kennedy III is a former Congressman who is Bobby Kennedy’s grandson and the great-grandson of the first Joe Kennedy, who served as ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Mr. Kennedy has close ties to Sinn Fein and is a member of the Irish American lobby, which has pushed Democratic policy toward a pro-EU stance on the contentious Northern Ireland protocol.
Currently, the UK is attempting to reach an agreement with the EU to ensure that Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom and that food and medicines continue to be available on supermarket shelves.
The EU has taken a hardline stance, potentially cutting off supplies of essential goods to Northern Ireland entirely.
Even among the EU’s 27 members, there are concerns about EU officials’ desire for “Brexit vengeance,” with Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó recently agreeing to assist the UK after talks with James Cleverly.
There are fears that Mr Biden’s appointment of 42-year-old Mr Kennedy could increase tensions further.
He has been pictured with leading members of Sinn Fein including people suspected of terrorist activities.
A former minister said: “This really is bad news indeed. The entire Kennedy clan held hostility towards the UK and they are so embedded in Irish American politics.
“No Kennedy has ever been helpful to this country starting with the old Joe Kennedy.
“It really is an unwise move on Biden’s part.”