Justin Trudeau urges Taoiseach to liberalise Irish abortion laws

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has told the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to liberalise Ireland’s abortion laws, as to have the choice is a “fundamental human right”.

Mr Varadkar is in Canada on an official three-day visit, which marks the second visit of a taoiseach in less than four months. Enda Kenny travelled to Montreal and Toronto in May as one of his final major foreign trips.

The two leaders, who hit it off when Mr Trudeau visited Dublin last month, held a bilateral meeting but the prime minister was asked what advice he would give the Taoiseach as the debate here over the controversial Eighth Amendment escalates.