ON THE BRINK! BREXIT TRADE WAR LOOMS

THE Brexit trade deal is in danger of being ripped up in the war of words over the Northern Ireland protocol.

- Martyn Brown

Brussels is considering the “nuclear” option of ditching the border arrangement if Britain triggers Article 16.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney sparked outrage yesterday as he warned that no-deal could be back on the table as the EU raised the stakes in its bid to punish Britain for leaving.

He said the Withdrawal Agreement, which contains the protocol, and the UK-EU trade deal only work if both are fully implemented.

And he claimed Boris Johnson and Brexit Minister Lord Frost, inset, were preparing to suspend the protocol before the end of the year, warning the EU would respond in a “very serious way”. A trade war could erupt following the sabre-rattling which came after a meeting between Lord Frost and the EU’s Maros Sefcovic failed to break the impasse last week.

The pair are due to hold more talks in London this week.

The bloc says it has already “bent over backward” to make concessions on the implementation of the protocol, which was part of the Withdrawal Agreement.

However, key disagreements remain, including the EU’s insistence that the European Court of Justice remains as overseer in any disputes.

The new arrangements have been blamed for fuelling sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland.

Loyalists are demanding the Protocol is scrapped because it places customs and the regulatory border between it and the rest of Britain.