Protocol offer is first key test for new DUP leader

A sign on a lamppost outside Larne Port with the word ‘No Irish Sea Border’. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA

A “sensible offer” which could remove 80% of the post-Brexit checks at Northern Ireland’s ports is the first key test for new DUP leader Edwin Poots, the SDLP leader has said.

Colum Eastwood was speaking after European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic suggested a temporary Swiss-style deal as a solution for Northern Ireland, where the UK continues to follow all EU agrifood rules.