Brexit: DUP leader calls for renegotiation of Brexit deal

Both the UK government and the EU must re-negotiate the Brexit deal because the Northern Ireland Protocol has not worked, the DUP leader has said.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was speaking after a virtual meeting with European Commission Vice-President Maros Šefčovič.

"My message was simple. The protocol has not worked," he said.

The Northern Ireland Protocol was agreed by the UK and EU to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

It does this by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods.

Unionists claim it undermines Northern Ireland's place in the UK.

Sir Jeffrey claimed "even those who supported the protocol's rigorous implementation" recognised that it had not worked.

"The barriers and distortion to trade within the UK internal market brought about by it must be swept away and not replaced," he said.

"We have pressed the UK government to that end. If the EU is unwilling to recognise the harm caused by the protocol then the UK government must take appropriate unilateral action using Article 16.

"Subjecting Northern Ireland to laws and regulations upon which its representatives and Westminster have no say can never work and does not have the support of both communities."

Earlier, speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme ahead of the meeting, he said the protocol was creating "very substantial problems in terms of barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

"We know that, not only has there been a diversion of trade where Northern Ireland businesses are now having to locate supply chains in the Irish Republic but, contrary to what the protocol actually says, the EU are using the grace period to facilitate the Irish Republic in attracting more Northern Ireland companies to use them as their supply chain and that is contrary to what the protocol says," he said.

"It is having a damaging impact on our economy and fundamentally on our relationship with the rest of the UK."

Last week, the DUP set out seven tests for any special Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland.

They include a promise of no new checks of goods being sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland if those goods are clearly intended to remain in Northern Ireland.

The EU-UK Specialised Committee is also due to meet on Monday.

It is an official-level body which oversees the implementation of the protocol.

On Wednesday, the UK government is expected to lay out its proposals for reforming the protocol.

In recent weeks, ministers have taken an increasingly hostile tone to the protocol, saying its implementation is "unbalanced".

Meanwhile, the UK Brexit Minister said ways needed to be found to "hugely reduce" or "eliminate" the new barriers to trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Lord Frost was giving evidence to MPs on the European Scrutiny Committee on Monday.

On Wednesday he is due to lay out the UK's proposals for the way forward on the protocol.

He said the protocol was not sustainable in its current form, that a new balance needs to be found and that all options remain on the table.