Micheál Martin and Boris Johnson met prior to attending the Ireland-England rugby match on Saturday.
Image source, Getty Images
The Northern Ireland Protocol has been discussed during a meeting between the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London.
Both leaders met prior to attending the England-Ireland rugby match at Twickenham on Saturday.
They also discussed the situation in Ukraine.
Mr Martin is holding a series of engagements in London in the run-up to St Patrick’s Day.
The taoiseach will be leading the city’s parade to mark the event on Sunday, which will pay tribute to the role played by Irish people in London during the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the meeting, Mr Martin and Mr Johnson discussed ways of working together to ensure the return of the Northern Ireland Executive following May’s assembly election.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said it would be difficult for his party to form a government if issues around the protocol are not addressed.
The mechanism to ensure free trade across the Irish border post-Brexit has been criticised by some unionists for its knock-on impact to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In February, the DUP’s Paul Givan resigned as first minister as part of the party’s protest against the protocol, causing the collapse of the executive.
The taoiseach welcomed the ongoing engagement between the UK and the European Union on the issue.
He also tweeted to explain they discussed the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian response.
Pleased to meet Prime Minister @BorisJohnson before the Ireland v England game.
We discussed brutal invasion of #Ukraine by Russia and the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
Welcomed the close collaboration between the EU, U.K. and our partners to hold Russia to account. pic.twitter.com/hDmzTfeIkL
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD)
Mr Martin “welcomed the close collaboration between the EU, UK and our partners to hold Russia to account”.
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- 3 February
