Brexit news: Boris Johnson blames EU with new Brexit threat | Politics | New

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These remarks are the latest in a furious war of words between the two sides that shows no sign of cooling off. In a serious escalation of rhetoric, No 10 yesterday accused the EU of undermining the peace process by demanding bureaucratic checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea.

Officials lambasted the way Brussels was implementing the protocol, accusing the Commission of exacerbating political tensions in the province.

It comes the day after Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney accused the UK of deliberately seeking to stoke political tensions in Northern Ireland.

He said Britain wanted to “dismantle elements of the protocol piece by piece” and used the EU as a scapegoat.

But in attacking the EU last night, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said the Commission’s authoritarian approach was responsible for the disintegration of confidence in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

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He said: “We cannot ignore the disruption the Protocol is currently causing on the ground.

“We also cannot ignore the fact that consent is eroding due to the way it is implemented.

“This is why we are working with the EU to try to resolve these issues.”

Warning Brussels that it must be ready to compromise on how the protocol is implemented, official No 10 added that the UK would not exclude anything to protect its internal market.

He added: “Our aim is to find lasting arrangements for Northern Ireland which protect the Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions.

“That is why we are committed to working with the EU to resolve the issues causing significant disruption on the ground.

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However, soon after the extension was agreed, it became clear that there were still large differences as to the purpose of the delay.

While the UK said the three-month period would allow talks between London and Brussels to find a permanent solution to problems caused by the protocol, the EU said it was time to give businesses more time to comply with the new rules.

Writing for the Irish Times over the weekend, Lord Frost accused the EU of failing to engage “with the real reality” of the Protocol.

He said it was “not a stable basis for the future”.

In response, Mr Coveney told Irish television station RTE the remarks “a very strange way of making friends and forming partnerships”.

“Many in the EU interpret the UK’s response as essentially saying, ‘Look, the concessions don’t matter. What is needed now is to dismantle the elements of the protocol piece by piece, ”he said.

“The UK government’s contribution does not help [peace and stability], because every time Lord Frost or the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland declares that the protocol is unsustainable, it reinforces in the minds of many concerned and frustrated with the protocol, that the protocol must change.

“Instead, what has to happen here is that the EU and the UK have to work in partnership.”

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