Pelosi warns US-UK trade deal is off if the protocol is scrapped

A BREXIT bust-up erupted across the Atlantic today as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned there would be no US-UK free trade deal if the Government unilaterally scraps the protocol on Northern Ireland's trading arrangements.

- Nicholas Cecil

Ms Pelosi stressed that the US Congress would not back a trade deal with the UK if the Government persists with "deeply concerning" plans to "unilaterally discard" the protocol.

She issued the warning after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced plans to legislate to override parts of the Brexit withdrawal treaty the UK struck with the EU, to be able to unilaterally change the protocol.

Ms Pelosi said: "Negotiated agreements like the protocol preserve the important progress and stability forged by the Good Friday Accords, which continue to enjoy strong bipartisan and bicameral support in the United States Congress.