Northern Ireland Protocol: Tony Blair says solution a 'matter of political will'

Sir Tony Blair said any solution was "not a matter of technical work but political will and leadership"

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair has said the EU and the UK should "show maximum flexibility in order to reach an agreement" over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

He made his comments in a new report by his Institute for Global Change.

Sir Tony said any solution was "not a matter of technical work but political will and leadership".

Sinn Féin dismissed Sir Tony's claim that the protocol puts the Good Friday Agreement at risk.

But the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said his position should act as a "wake-up call for the pro-protocol parties".

Sir Tony said the "issues at the heart of the protocol have the capability of causing an enlarged trade conflict between the UK and the EU, or undermining the Good Friday Agreement - and quite possibly both".

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said she was not aware of Sir Tony's comments.

However, she rejected any idea that the protocol undermines the Good Friday Agreement.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," she added.

"The facts are that Brexit caused a huge difficulty for the Good Friday Agreement settlement.

"We've said that consistently from the beginning that Brexit and the Good Friday Agreement were incompatible and we had to find better mechanisms to address that."

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald was speaking in Brussels on Wednesday

Ms McDonald, who met the EU's chief negotiator Maroš Šefčovič on Wednesday along with Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O'Neill, said the protocol was supported widely and by a majority of assembly members in Northern Ireland.

Ms O'Neill said the meeting with Mr Šefčovič was positive and that talks needed to take place between the EU and the UK "on the basis of good faith and joint solutions".

Addressing Sir Tony's comments, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said: "In stating 'it is not a matter of technical work but political will and leadership', Tony Blair is correct.

"He is also correct to say that the protocol is a bad deal and is undermining the Good Friday Agreement."

Sir Jeffrey said the EU should recognise the harm the protocol is doing to political stability in Northern Ireland.

Sir Jeffrey said Sir Tony's position should act as a "wake-up call for the pro-protocol parties"

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie said Sir Tony's intervention was "significant" and called on the EU to change its mandate.

"The best way through this is with negotiation," he said.

"I am glad the report acknowledges it is the obligation of both the UK and the European Union to find a way through the present stalemate."

Sir Tony said the report was "at least, a possible landing zone for resolution of the dispute".

"It could be done within the framework of the protocol, but would require significant movement from the EU on its stated position around the protocol's interpretation," he said, in a foreword to the report.

"My judgement - with long experience of EU negotiations - is that things have reached such a state of distrust that the two bureaucratic systems will not settle this; it has to be done at the highest political level because, ultimately, it is not a matter of technical work but political will and leadership."

• A simple guide to the Brexit border problem

• Claims about Northern Ireland's Brexit fact-checked

The protocol is the part of the Brexit deal designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Unionist parties support Northern Ireland being part of the UK and argue that placing an effective border across the Irish Sea undermines Northern Ireland's place within the UK.

Northern Ireland's largest unionist party, the Democratic Unionists (DUP), is refusing to take part in Northern Ireland's power-sharing government unless its concerns are resolved.

Even though the DUP came second in May's elections to Sinn Féin - a nationalist party which accepts the protocol - a new Northern Ireland government cannot be formed without its support.

Sinn Féin has accused the unionists of believing they can "hold society to ransom".

The basics

• The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit deal: it means lorries don't face checkpoints when they go from Northern Ireland (in the UK) to the Republic of Ireland (in the EU)

• Instead, when goods arrive in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK (England, Scotland and Wales), they are checked against EU rules

• The UK and the EU chose this arrangement because the Irish border is a sensitive issue due to Northern Ireland's troubled political history

Read more: Guide to the Brexit border problem

Last month, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said a new law would be introduced to change the post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland.

Ms Truss insisted the bill would be legal under international law.

In response to Ms Truss's statement, the EU said it would "need to respond with all measures at its disposal" if the UK went ahead with the legislation.