Only a 'bespoke' deal for NI will solve border problem, says Tony Blair

The European Union cannot allow the continued free flow of goods across the Irish border if Britain is outside the single market and the customs union, Tony Blair has warned.

The former British prime minister said the UK could, if it choses, permit the free movement of people between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to continue - although it would make a "nonsense" of the argument Britain was leaving to take back control of its borders.