NI Protocol override law 'not part of Queen's Speech'

The protocol creates a new trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK

A specific piece of legislation relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol will not be in the Queen's Speech, a government source has said.

Senior sources previously told the BBC there would be a bill allowing ministers to override post-Brexit border arrangements.

The protocol is the Brexit deal that prevents a hard border in Ireland.

The Queen's Speech, on 10 May, will allow the government to set out what laws it wants to pass.

The BBC understands there will be language included in the speech about upholding the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement - the 1998 peace deal which helped bring an end to the Troubles.

It is also understood a bill could be introduced at a later stage.

• A simple guide to the Brexit border problem

The UK and EU have been negotiating possible changes to the protocol.

The protocol was agreed by the UK and the EU in October 2019 and came into force in January 2021.

It prevents a hard Irish border by keeping Northern Ireland inside the EU's single market for goods.

That also creates a new trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The deal is opposed by unionists, who argue it undermines Northern Ireland's place in the UK.

The UK government has since said it was a huge compromise on their part, and accused the EU of applying it too rigidly.

The EU accepts that the protocol is causing difficulties for businesses and has proposed a package of measures to reduce its practical impacts.