Northern Ireland Protocol: Johnson criticised by leaders after crisis talks

Boris Johnson has insisted he doesn’t want to scrap the Northern Ireland protocol but to fix it – and said that all the parties he met on his visit to Belfast today agreed it needed reform.

The prime minister claimed he was trying to “protect and preserve” the Northern Ireland government, saying that wouldn’t be helped by imposing extra barriers to trade. But critics have warned the UK not to risk breaking international law by ripping up the post-Brexit trade agreement.