Lord Frost to hold Brussels talks over NI trade tensions

LORD FROST will travel to Brussels tomorrow to discuss post-brexit trade tensions in Northern Ireland, as DUP MPS yesterday expressed fears of more rioting unless the issue is dealt with.

The former Brexit negotiator, who is now in charge of EU relations, will hold talks with his European Commission counterpart, Maros Sefcovic, amid ongoing negotiations over the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Daily Telegraph understands the pair will have dinner together tomorrow evening following “positive” discussions over bridging disagreements on the implementation of new rules and checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea.

While the outbreak of violence across Northern Ireland has given renewed impetus to the talks, Government sources insisted last night that the din- ner was a long-standing engagement and played down the prospects of any imminent breakthrough.

Meanwhile, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, yesterday faced renewed calls from unionist MPS to scrap the protocol.

Giving an update to MPS, he acknowledged that it had helped fuel tensions among loyalists. But he argued that the rioting was “multi-faceted”, pointing to frustration over lockdown, economic uncertainty and the failure to prosecute Sinn Fein politicians who broke Covid rules in attending the funeral of former IRA leader Bobby Storey.

Ian Paisley, DUP MP for North Antrim, said: “The Secretary of State knows that the protocol lies at the heart of this, because the identity of Ulster is at stake ... I fear a continuing downward spiral unless [he] takes action.”