EU’s leading Brexit negotiator, Maros Sefcovic, has accused Liz Truss of effectively putting “a gun on the table” by introducing a bill to tear up the Northern Ireland protocol.
Under the post-Brexit agreement, Northern Ireland remains in the bloc’s internal market and must undergo checks on goods moving between here and the UK (ie from one part of the UK to another).
The Vice-President of the EU Commission argued it was “not for London to change the game unilaterally and decide what enters the EU’s internal market”.
Mr Sefcovic added: “The EU cannot – and will not – accept that this delicate balance is unilaterally and illegally deviated from as a result of an outright U-turn by the British Government.”
The British Foreign Secretary said the bill would “solve” the problems of the protocol, but noted that a negotiated settlement remains the government’s “preference”.