Johnson sets out ‘insurance’ plan to rewrite Northern Ireland’s Brexit deal

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Thales weapons manufacturer in Belfast during a visit to Northern Ireland for talks with Stormont parties. Picture date: Monday May 16, 2022 (Liam McBurney/PA)

Boris Johnson said his plan to legislate to rip up Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements was an “insurance” policy if a fresh deal could not be reached with the European Union.

The row over the Northern Ireland Protocol has created an impasse in efforts to form a new executive in Stormont, with the Democratic Unionist Party refusing to join a new administration unless its concerns over the arrangements are addressed.