Tony Blair says EU was very foolish over NI vaccine move

Tony Blair said the EU’s short-lived move to over-ride the Brexit deal on Northern Ireland was ‘foolish’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Tony Blair has criticised the European Union’s short-lived move to override the Brexit deal on Northern Ireland under its vaccine export controls as a “very foolish” move that jeopardised the peace process.

The former British prime minister, a vocal supporter of the UK remaining in the bloc, said Brussels’ action in triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to control the movement of coronavirus jabs had been “unacceptable”.