Brexit: DUP leader calls on PM to 'get to grips' with NI Protocol

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the prime minister needs to recognise that the protocol is "a priority issue"

The prime minister needs to "get to grips" with Northern Ireland Protocol issues, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said.

Sir Jeffrey added that he was not made aware in advance of the resignation of Brexit minister Lord Frost.

"I do think it harms the government's position when you lose your chief negotiator in these circumstances," he said.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is to lead talks over the protocol.

This will be on top of her current post.

The Northern Ireland Protocol is the Brexit trade deal aimed at avoiding a hard Irish border.

However, unionists, including Sir Jeffrey and his party, oppose the protocol, saying it has a placed a border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

• Lord Frost's resignation letter in full

• Brexit border problem: A simple guide

In an interview with BBC NI's Good Morning Ulster on Monday, Mr Donaldson said: "I think that the prime minister needs to get to grips with this issue, he needs to recognise this is a priority issue alongside the other priorities he is dealing with."

The DUP leader argued that every day the protocol was in place, it was harming the local economy.

"We need to see a much sharper focus now on getting this sorted out," he said.

John Finucane said the protocol held "huge economic potential"

However, Sinn Féin MP for North Belfast John Finucane told Good Morning Ulster that there needed to be "a degree of responsibility and realism particularly on the part of the British government".

"They need to recognise what their role is and their role is not to tear the protocol up and start again. What we need to do is work the protocol," he said.

"We are not even 12 months into the protocol and, already, we have seen enormous economic benefit to this jurisdiction.

"It has also been recognised by business leaders as something which provides us with huge economic potential."

The Northern Ireland Protocol was negotiated between the EU and the UK government in late 2019.

But the UK government now wants significant reform of the agreement.

Lord Frost, who helped to negotiate the protocol, subsequently argued that the arrangement was harming the peace process in Northern Ireland.

In October, the EU offered new proposals to resolve the long-running protocol dispute, which it said would cut the number of spot checks on goods by about 80%.

In the last few days, the EU has put forward new proposals meaning medicines entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain will not need additional labelling or testing.

European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said a commitment to ensure the supply of medicines into Northern Ireland was being turned into "a lasting solution".

Brexit minister Lord Frost resigned from the UK government on Saturday over "concerns about the current direction of travel".

In a letter to Boris Johnson, the peer said he hoped the PM would "not be tempted" by "coercive measures" to tackle Covid.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, he reiterated that his decision was due to coronavirus rules, not Brexit.

Lord Frost said he and the prime minister had "never disagreed" on Brexit policy.