Northern Ireland protocol is a 'complete turkey' says Foster

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British officials have been frustrated by the bloc’s unwillingness to consider new ideas to end the hated Northern Ireland protocol deadlock. A source told The Telegraph that this unease has grown with the “provocative” statements from EU lead Brexit negotiator Maros Sefocvic.

They told the publication: “Their intervention risks taking us back to trench warfare.”

Mr Sefocvic has indicated that the EU could introduce checks on the island of Ireland to protect the single market.

This was in response to the attempt by Edwin Poots Stormont’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) agriculture minister to halt checks on agri-food shipments from Britain.

Government sources told The Telegraph that this proposal risked “escalating” tensions further.

It also showed a lack of understanding of the issues being discussed in order to end the trade dispute.

An example of this was the EU’s instance that Westminster could simply override the will of Stormont.

They said: “It’s concerning that the EU doesn’t seem to understand the DUP, they seem to believe they’re Tories and not exactly taking the situation seriously.

“We’ve been trying to stress the importance of keeping communications calm.” 

Under the protocol, Northern Ireland has to follow a number of single market rules in order to avoid a hard border.

However, critics argue that this has effectively created a border in the Irish sea as well as having a negative impact on trade.

Unionists have complained that the protocol has driven a wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Their opposition to the protocol has also created political chaos in Northern Ireland. 

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First Minister the DUP’s Paul Givan quit shortly after the attempt to stop Brexit related checks.

This has essentially led to power sharing collapsing with Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill automatically being stripped of her position as Deputy First Minister.

The British Government has yet to set a date for fresh elections to The Northern Ireland Assembly which are due later this year.

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