Brexit

Containers are loaded on to trucks at Dover port. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA Brexit: Irish hauliers seek State help to bypass UK ‘land bridge’

Industry group says exporters ‘extremely vulnerable’ to dependence on route

Photograph: iStock Government to legislate for recognition of UK divorces after Brexit
Northern Secretary Brandon Lewis: he told the Commons that the bill would break international law “in a very specific and limited way”. Photograph: Bloomberg Civil society groups say Internal Market Bill ‘jeopardises’ Belfast Agreement.

Amal Clooney says she had no alternative but to resign after he made clear the Government would change its position. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Amal Clooney quits as UK envoy over Johnson’s Brexit bill
For Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s special adviser, Brexit is a wrecking ball aimed at the British institutions he despises: parliament, the judiciary, the Tory Party, the civil service, the BBC, Oxbridge. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images Fintan O’Toole: It is June 24th, 2025 – and Brexit has worked
UK prime minister Boris Johnson (left) and former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. Photographs: Neil Hall/EPA and Patrick Hertzog/AFP via Getty David McWilliams: Johnson’s UK and Milosevic’s Yugoslavia – spot the difference
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo with British foreign secretary Dominic Raab at the State Department in Washington, on Wednesday. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/Pool via AP Raab’s US visit amplifies Democratic support for Irish
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney: he is also travelling to Brussels next week for meetings with EU foreign ministers Brexit added to agenda of EU leaders’ special European Council meeting
US special envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney. File photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Trump envoy to Northern Ireland warns against hard border
Former Conservative Party leader Lord Howard: ‘The government is still asking Parliament to break international law.’ Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images Ex-Tory leader Michael Howard not voting for contentious Bill
Debate on the Internal Market Bill in the House of Commons, London. Photograph: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA Wire Devolved finance ministers warn of ‘collective concerns’ over Brexit bill
Boris Johnson claims the European Commission has threatened a ‘food blockade’ of Northern Ireland, which is clearly incorrect in the sense of physically preventing goods arriving from Britain. Photograph: Jessica Taylor/AFP via Getty Images Newton Emerson: Brussels is threatening the North's food supply

Mr Biden, who is an Irish-American, is currently leading in polls as he seeks to become the 46th president of the United States. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Joe Biden warns Britain the Belfast Agreement cannot become ‘casualty of Brexit’
Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost: Negotiations with Michel Barnier continue. Photograph: Niklas Halle’n/AFP via Getty Images UK’s issues with Brexit deal do not appear difficult to resolve
Michel Barnier, chief negotiator for the European Union (EU). Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Bloomberg EU will not be ‘provoked’ into ending UK talks, Barnier says
Boris Johnson during PMQs in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Photograph: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/PA Wire Brexit: Johnson agrees deal with Tory rebels on law-breaking Bill
Lorries queue on the A20 near Dover in Kent after a police operation in the port resulted in traffic congestion on nearby roads and the deployment of Operation Stack which uses part of the M20 to marshal goods vehicles travelling towards the Channel. Photograph: Aaron Chown PA Wire UK could renege on Ireland’s truck land-bridge to EU, TD warns
Former British ambassaror to the EU Ivan Rogers in Dublin in March last year. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill /The Irish Times ‘Trumpite’ Boris Johnson wants EU to fail, former British diplomat says
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US special envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney. File photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Trump envoy to Northern Ireland warns against hard border
Former Conservative Party leader Lord Howard: ‘The government is still asking Parliament to break international law.’ Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images Ex-Tory leader Michael Howard not voting for contentious Bill
Debate on the Internal Market Bill in the House of Commons, London. Photograph: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA Wire Devolved finance ministers warn of ‘collective concerns’ over Brexit bill
Mr Biden, who is an Irish-American, is currently leading in polls as he seeks to become the 46th president of the United States. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Joe Biden warns Britain the Belfast Agreement cannot become ‘casualty of Brexit’
Michel Barnier, chief negotiator for the European Union (EU). Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Bloomberg EU will not be ‘provoked’ into ending UK talks, Barnier says
Boris Johnson during PMQs in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Photograph: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/PA Wire Brexit: Johnson agrees deal with Tory rebels on law-breaking Bill
Lorries queue on the A20 near Dover in Kent after a police operation in the port resulted in traffic congestion on nearby roads and the deployment of Operation Stack which uses part of the M20 to marshal goods vehicles travelling towards the Channel. Photograph: Aaron Chown PA Wire UK could renege on Ireland’s truck land-bridge to EU, TD warns
“A new stage of policy measures will be needed to rehabilitate the economy, strengthen our competitiveness, and ensure recovery,” said Ibec’s director of policy and public affairs Fergal O’Brien. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Ibec warns Ireland’s total Covid bill could reach €50bn
British prime minister Boris Johnson departs 10 Downing Street following a cabinet meeting in London, Britain, on Tuesday. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA Downing Street warns House of Lords against blocking controversial Bill
UK prime minister Boris Johnson. Photograph: PRU/AFP via Getty Boris Johnson moves to quell Tory rebellion over controversial Bill
British prime minister Boris Johnson said the measures contained in the Internal Market Bill to set aside parts of the Brexit deal were an ‘insurance policy’ he hoped would ‘never be invoked’. Photograph: PA Wire Johnson’s Bill to breach Brexit deal passes first Commons vote
Boris Johnson’s government intends to proceed with the Internal Market Bill. Photograph: Getty Low post-Brexit customs registration among firms contacted in July
Wise to assume UK will crash out of EU without a deal and that Ireland will suffer a significant economic hit Gabriel Makhlouf said Wise to assume no-deal Brexit – Central Bank governor
David Cameron: “Passing an act of parliament and then going on to break an international treaty obligation is the very very last thing you should contemplate, it should be an absolute final resort.” Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images David Cameron joins in criticism of Johnson’s Brexit move
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar during a tour of the K-Leisure facility in Naas, Co Kildare. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire UK risks becoming ‘shadow of its former self,’ Leo Varadkar warns
Simon Coveney: It’s an extraordinary approach to take in a negotiation with a partner you’re looking to build a future relationship with. Coveney: Johnson wants a deal but he has a strange way of going about it
UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA Boris Johnson faces Conservative backbench rebellion over new law
UK prime minister Boris Johnson. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty Boris Johnson’s claims of EU ‘blockade’ in Irish Sea rubbished in Dublin
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney on the Andrew Marr show on BBC 1 on Sunday: ‘Both the British and Irish economies are going to be damaged significantly and that will be a significant failure of politics not anything else.’ ‘It’s spin and not the truth’: Coveney dismisses UK claims EU may block goods entering Northern Ireland
The two former British prime ministers wrote a joint letter published by the Sunday Times newspaper Blair and Major say UK must drop ‘shocking’ plan to break international law
British prime minister Boris Johnson attends a virtual press conference at Downing Street on September 9th, 2020. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty Images Brexit: Johnson says Bill needed to stop ‘blockade’ in Irish Sea
Boris Johnson’s decision to proceed with legislation that has plunged trade talks with the EU into crisis has prompted concern among some Conservatives. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Brexit: Johnson says breaking law needed to stop ‘foreign power’ splitting UK
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney: Irish officials are playing down the prospects of taking legal action against Britain under a treaty its government will have already undermined. Photograph: Julien Behal Ireland poised for greater likelihood of no-deal Brexit
European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic leaves Europe House in London after an emergency Brexit meeting. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images EU threatens legal action if UK does not withdraw treaty ‘violation’ by end of month
Britain refuses to retract controversial Brexit withdrawal agreement Bill
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: “What were they thinking? Whatever it is, I hope they’re not thinking of a US-US bilateral trade agreement.” Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA ‘Don’t mess with the Good Friday accords,’ says Pelosi in new warning to UK
The market has turned substantially bearish on sterling. Photograph: iStock Battered sterling sinks to more than 5-month low against euro
European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefèoviè (R) is greeted by Ambassador of the European Union to the UK Joâo Vale de Almeida (L) at London offices of the European Commission. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA Brexit: EU threatens UK with legal action if plans for controversial Bill are not reversed
British prime minister Boris Johnson attends a virtual press conference at Downing Street in London, England, on Wednesday. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau- WPA Pool/Getty Images Brexit: EU and UK relations nosedive amid fallout from Bill that breaks law
Sir Declan Morgan Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland said the British government’s comments about the Northern Ireland protocol enable ‘others to take the view that they can choose which laws apply to them’. Photograph: Alan Betson UK Brexit plan could undermine rule of law domestically, says NI chief justice
‘Whatever form it takes, Brexit cannot be allowed to imperil the Good Friday Agreement,’ house speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times Pelosi warns ‘no chance’ of US-UK trade deal passing Congress if Brexit law breached
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Britain’s threat to would breach the Brexit treaty was “not an acceptable way to conduct negotiations”. File photograph: Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images Taoiseach tells Johnson in ‘forthright terms’ of concerns about intention to breach deal
Boris Johnson during prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons, London, Britain. Photograph: UK parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA Wire Boris Johnson defends contentious Bill as necessary to protect peace in the North
More than 400,000 ‘roll-on, roll-off’ truck consignments arrived into Dublin Port in the year to February 25th last. Photograph: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos Brexit: State could face checks on up to 460 trucks from UK every day
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said: ‘This would break international law and undermines trust. Pacta sunt servanda = the foundation of prosperous future relations.’ Photograph: Aris Oikonomou/EPA Brexit: EU asks for emergency meeting with UK on NI protocol
Any post-Brexit trade deal between Britain and the US must be approved by Congress. Photograph: Getty US politicians warn Britain to uphold Belfast Agreement commitments
A Brexit-inspired mural by Banksy in Dover. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA Brexit: Irish firms are warned of risks to jobs and movement of goods
British prime minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street to attend a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA Brexit trade deal hopes fade as Britain plans to renege on agreement with EU
Sammy Wilson: “I am pleased that the government is open to changes, but we will judge the legislation on its impact rather than the headlines and speculation” SDLP says Lewis’s statement undermines UK’s international credibility
Northern Secretary Brandon Lewis: he told the Commons that the Internal Markets Bill will see Britain reneging on its treaty commitment to the EU. Photograph: Getty Images UK admits it intends to break international law
There will be ‘no appeasing’ any unilateral departure by the UK from the terms of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said. File image: Gareth Chaney/Collins Brexit: UK law breach would ‘seriously erode trust’, says Coveney
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said while the UK is ‘fully committed’ to implementing the Withdrawal Agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol, the government is taking ‘limited and reasonable steps to create a safety net’ Brexit: Britain says it may break international law in ‘limited way’
The head of the UK’s government legal department has quit. Photograph: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images Brexit: Top UK lawyer quits over withdrawal ‘deal changes’
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Photograph: Francois Walschaerts/EPA Brexit: Leaked EU cables show distrust in Boris Johnson
Talks between Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost and his EU counterpart Michel Barnier resume in London on Tuesday. File photograph: Getty London seeks to allay fears of plan to erode Brexit withdrawal pact
There is surprise and anger on both sides of the Irish border and in Brussels at a reported British plan to potentially undermine the withdrawal pact. Photograph: Getty Brexit: Senior Irish politicians play down ‘sabre rattling’ from UK on withdrawal deal
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier: the report hiked tensions ahead of the start of the latest round of Brexit talks in London on Tuesday. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire Brexit: No deal without implementing NI protocol, EU says
UK prime minister Boris Johnson. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK plays down impact of new Brexit Bill on Northern Ireland protocol
Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane said any move to disregard the withdrawal agreement ‘simply cannot be allowed’ as it would be in contravention of an international agreement, not just an agreement with Ireland and Europe. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins. Any attempt by UK to override withdrawal agreement ‘an act of bad faith,’ SF TD says
Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill described the potential new British legislation as a ‘treacherous betrayal’. Photograph: PA North’s pro-Remain parties warn Johnson he cannot renege on withdrawal deal
Firms are expected to face difficulty getting shipments through ports unless they have completed the correct customs procedures. Photograph: Stephen Collins/Collins Government’s Brexit plan to warn on imports and exports
Sections of the internal market bill are expected to ‘eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement’ in areas including state aid and Northern Ireland customs. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Brexit: Coveney warning over reported UK plan to override withdrawal deal
British prime minister Boris Johnson says the negotiations with the EU are entering their final phase. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Brexit: Johnson puts six-week deadline on EU talks
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said EU trade deals have boiled down to two outstanding bones of contention. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Dominic Raab: UK trade deal with Brussels is ‘there for the taking’
Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson: “We’re ready for any eventuality, of course.” Photograph: Andrew Fox Britain to ‘prosper mightily’ with or without free trade deal
The Culicagh mountain boardwalk which threads along the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Bad Brexit trade deal could be ‘devastating’ for North’s farms
Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier: “Frankly I am disappointed and I am worried.” Photograph: Yves Herman/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Brexit: UK time-wasting makes deal unlikely, says Barnier
The European Commission has warned member states that the UK request for ‘cabotage’ rights is too similar to pre-Brexit levels of access to the EU single market. Photograph: Arterra/ Universal Images Group via Getty Brexit trade talks set to stall again over British truckers’ EU access
Taoiseach Micheál Martin greets British prime minister Boris Johnson on the steps of Hillsborough Castle in Belfast. Photograph: Brian Lawless/AFP via Getty Images Taoiseach warns against ‘second systemic shock’ of no-deal Brexit
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and British prime minister Boris Johnson ahead of a meeting at Hillsborough Castle on Thursday. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Taoiseach says ‘landing zone’ exists for trade deal between EU and UK
Dispute over whether to allow certain US foodstuffs into Britain, including chicken dipped in chlorine baths, was a symptom of more trouble to come, the think tank said. Photograph: Darko Vojinovic/AP UK criticised for ‘unforced errors’ on post-Brexit trade deals
British cabinet office minister Michael Gove visited the Ulster Carpets factory in Co Armagh on Friday in the course of his visit to Northern Ireland. Photograph: Press Eye/PA Wire British cash for Northern Ireland shows scale of Brexit disruption
Michael Gove visited Northern Ireland on Friday with Northern Secretary Brandon Lewis. File photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters. Gove announces £650m Brexit support package for the North
An anti-Brexit demonstrator waves a Union flag alongside an EU flag outside the Houses of Parliament in London in 2018. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images Citizens in Brexit Britain clamour for German passports, study shows
Peter Geoghegan contends that the money was channelled to the DUP through the official Vote Leave campaign. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire DUP’s Brexit ads: Who bankrolled the secretive £435,000 campaign?
British Brexit negotiator David Frost. File photograph: Aris Oikonomou/AFP via Getty Images UK outlines Brexit talks timetable running into October
C2 ‘Second shock’ of Brexit may be too much for Ireland to cope with, Coveney told
Concerns that big British businesses such as Tesco will be deterred from trading in Northern Ireland after Brexit have been raised in the House of Lords. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Post-Brexit checks may deter firms like Tesco from trading in Northern Ireland
British prime minister Boris Johnson holding crabs at Stromness harbour during a visit to the Scottish Highlands and Northern Isles. Photograph: Robert Perry/PA Wire Barnier says trade agreement unlikely between EU and UK
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier arrives wearing a face mask at Europe House, headquarters of the EU Delegation to the UK, in London on Thursday. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP Brexit: UK’s position makes trade deal ‘unlikely’, says Barnier
Boris Johnson blocked publication of the Russia report ahead of last year’s British general election. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images UK ‘failed to assess’ if Russia interfered in Brexit referendum
‘Unfettered access was promised, but it looks less and less likely that it will be delivered.’ Photograph: Peter Morrison/PA North businesses left ill-prepared for post-Brexit trade, report warns
UK cabinet office minister Michael Gove said the major investment would ensure traders and the border industry are able to “manage the changes and seize the opportunities” when the transition period ends in December. Photograph: PA Wire UK government announces £700m for Britain-EU border
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier at Downing Street during this week’s post-Brexit talks. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images ‘Prepare for January’: European Commission warns as Brexit trade talks stall
Britain may require exporters to file exit declarations as goods leave Dublin and Belfast, and there have been warnings of long queues for lorries at Dover. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Brexit: System agreed for Irish goods to skip checks on UK trade
Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost said the face to face talks in Brussels had been useful and that the negotiating teams will meet again next week in London as planned. Photograph: Stephanie Lecocq / EPA Brexit talks on future relationship end early with both sides saying differences remain
Britain’s lead Brexit negotiator David Frost in Brussels in Monday. The UK government has moved Mr Frost to a new role as national security adviser, which he will take up at the end of August. Photograph: John Thys/AFP via Getty Images Britain ups the pressure to end Brexit talks by end of summer
Traditionally, sterling has been one of the most heavily traded and therefore safest currencies in the world British pound sinking to ‘emerging market currency’ status
Mark Sedwill has announced he will stand down from his role as cabinet secretary, national security adviser and head of the civil service. File photograph: Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images. MPs cry foul as UK’s top civil servant Mark Sedwill resigns
German chancellor Angela Merkel at the weekly government cabinet meeting during the coronavirus pandemic on June 24th, in Berlin. Photograph: Andreas Gora/Pool/Getty Images Angela Merkel: UK will have to live with consequences of looser ties with EU
DUP’s Sammy Wilson. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire Brexit: Port of Larne preparing to become border control post, says Wilson
Michael Gove: “The UK’s customs territory is not altered as a result of the protocol, and unfettered access is one of the clear provisions within the protocol.” Photograph: Andrew Parsons/10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty Images Gove rejects European Union’s assertion on Northern Ireland protocol
British prime minister Boris Johnson greets French president Emmanuel Macron who visited to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Gen de Gaulle’s “Appel” speech. Photograph: Frank Augstein UK talks with EU may conclude by autumn, Johnson tells Macron
UK prime minister Boris Johnson. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s decision to fold foreign aid department denounced
Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson participates in a video-conference call on Monday with European Council president Charles Michel, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament president David Sassoli and the EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty Images EU prepares to knuckle down for summer of Brexit talks
British prime minister Boris Johnson during a visit on Sunday to a London shopping centre before it reopens to the public on Monday. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/EPA Johnson and EC president to meet amid deadlock gloom
British cabinet office minister Michael Gove has ruled out Britain applying for an extension to the post-Brexit transition period. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Britain formally rejects extension to post-Brexit transition period
The EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier hinted that a compromise may be possible. Photograph: Daina Le Lardic/Pool/Getty Images UK to abandon plan for full border checks in January
Minister for European Affairs Helen McEntee warns of potential damage to Irish food trade from no-deal Brexit. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times Brexit: Irish food exports to UK may draw €1.35bn tariffs if no deal
Brexit supporters: The UK government will soon publish plans for preparing Britain’s border operations for changes after the post-Brexit transition period. Photograph: Andrew Testa/New York Times Brexit: UK talking to EU about accelerating talks, says Mordaunt
David Crockett and his daughter Rebecca on their farm at Coshquin, which straddles the Border between Derry and Donegal. Tributes paid to farmer killed in accident on cross-Border farm
Michel Barnier holds the Official Journal of the European Union C34 during a press conference on Friday in Brussels regarding the fourth round of Brexit negotiations. Photograph: Daina Le Lardic/ Pool/Getty Images Barnier insists pragmatic workarounds are possible for trade in the North
British Brexit negotiator David Frost: “Any such deal must of course accommodate the reality of the UK’s well-established position on the so-called ‘level playing field’, on fisheries, and the other difficult issues.” Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images Brexit: UK says sides need face-to-face talks to make progress
EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier: “This week, there have been no significant areas of progress.” Photograph: Yves Herman/AFP EU accuses Britain of backtracking as Brexit deadline nears