EU Brexit negotiator: Pressuring Ireland will prompt 'waves of solidarity' from rest of EU

"We are determined that the negotiated withdrawal agreement, including the backstop, which safeguards the Good Friday agreement, cannot be discarded as (British PM Boris) Johnson has requested."

Brexit coordinator for the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt has said Ireland will receive unstinting support from the rest of the EU in the event of pressure from the UK to concede ground on the backstop.