Hard Frost thaws EU

THE dramatic Brussels climbdown over the Northern Ireland protocol is a huge victory for Lord Frost – and Britain.

By convincing the european Commission to slash checks and paperwork on goods entering the province from the UK, the Brexit Minister has succeeded where intransigent eurocrats and sneering remainers declared he would fail.

His next job is to strip the european Court of Justice’s jurisdiction of the deal – potentially a Herculean task.

The EU will resist. But having repeatedly proven his mettle, it would be folly to write off the formidable and shrewd peer.

Meanwhile, a small doff of the cap to Brussels. The bumptious bloc has no sterner critic than this newspaper.

But by offering sensible concessions it has shown itself to be deft, not deaf.

The absurd protocol clearly isn’t working and threatens the delicate peace in Northern Ireland. Let us hope this spirit of co-operation continues.

If the Government walks away from the table and invokes Article 16 to preserve stability in the province, a trade war may ensue. That would be in no one’s interest.