Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has claimed Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees Mogg admitted to him he didn’t know what the Irish border was.

Northern Ireland could be used to smuggle illegal drugs and weapons from the EU into Great Britain after Brexit, police have warned.

This Johnson surrogate keeps referring to a recent EU Commission paper which he says resolved the Irish border issues. Surprise! This claim is false.

Lots of requests for a step-by-step explanation of Johnson's plans to breach Protocol on Irish border. / No problem. And by the end, you'll understand why this man is totally unfit to hold public office.

n this episode of #3Blokes In A Pub, Graham and Jason travel to Belfast and are joined by Robert Stephenson on a fact-finding mission to find out what utter chaos Brexit is going to inflict on Northern Ireland and the consequences of a #NoDeal Brexit on both the border with the Republic of Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement.

"Not one of those things he promised us has been delivered. So I have seen no evidence that that man is capable of negotiating his way out of the tea room in the House of Commons, let alone us into the biggest market in the world." - Peter Kyle

The plan has brought some Tory unity, but Brussels believes it is unworkable.

Near one of the scores of small crossings on the border, a yellow digger stands as a monument to the lengths communities went to to keep roads open during the Troubles.

Brexit negotiations "have been difficult" and "no solution has been identified" to the Irish backstop, the European Commission has said.

The Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee has said it will be "very difficult" for Ireland to reconcile its obligations to the EU with protecting the Good Friday Agreement in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

'Get Brexit done is the biggest delusion of all' - Michael Heseltine launches scathing attack on Boris Johnson.

The backstop element of the Brexit plan is "not going to change", Ireland's deputy prime minister has said.

'It doesn’t look like the basis of an agreement, that’s for sure'.

No-deal scenario would disrupt seamless flow of goods and services between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

Nancy Pelosi has warned the UK there will be "absolutely no chance" of a trade deal with Washington passing Congress should the government override the Brexit withdrawal agreement signed by Boris Johnson.

Tags Fisheries Fishing lough foyle quotas review 2017 A disputed Irish-UK territory is one of many fishing problems caused by Brexit Both Ireland and the UK claim Lough Foyle as their own – so what fishing rules will be implemented after Brexit?

'Do you think it's practical for us *the UK govt* to require/request multiple extensions?' / What does A50 have to say on the possibility of multiple extensions? / 'If you leave with no deal, you are no longer a member of the EU and you're treated as any other non member state.'

Tory minister David Frost proposes plans for an entirely new Northern Ireland Protocol – "trashing" a deal he once triumphed.

Shockwaves felt both sides of Irish divide over plan to renege on withdrawal agreement.

Alternative arrangements to inspections on the border in Ireland cannot be a replacement for the backstop, the Taoiseach has told reporters in Brussels.

Whatever happens with Brexit, it is vital we protect what we’ve achieved in Northern Ireland together. / Peter Hain and Paul Murphy have both served as secretary of state for Northern Ireland

The renewed tension in Northern Ireland could have far-reaching implications for the future of the United Kingdom - and post-Brexit relations with the EU.

German chancellor warns against return of border and recalls death toll during Troubles. / Angela Merkel has likened the Irish border question to the fall of the Iron Curtain and said Theresa May must bring worked-out proposals to a meeting of EU leaders next week.

But why has the Irish border remained a major sticking point in the Brexit negotiations?

EU negotiator signals future relationship negotiations are on course for acrimonious start.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has told a House of Commons select committee that suggestions the Republic of Ireland “re-join” the UK, leave the European Union or ignore its obligations to protect the EU border, have not gone down very well in Ireland.

PM urged to recognise pursuit of no-deal Brexit would be regarded as serious error by US.

In a move rarely seen between allies, Washington issued London with a demarche: a formal diplomatic reprimand usually reserved for adversaries.

Irish backstop is already a compromise designed around British red lines, says Coveney.

Border Communities Against Brexit are a group from all sectors who have come together out of concern that the North’s remain vote will not be respected.

Border Communities Against Brexit have roundly condemned the planned move to introduce a new Electronic Authorisation Scheme for non Irish and UK cross border visitors in the new year.

Border Communities Against Brexit is one of the winners of the European Citizen's Prize 2017. The national award ceremony took place in the Garage Theatre, Monaghan Town on Friday 14th July.

Protesters have gathered outside the Irish parliament to call on public representatives to sign a declaration to protect the backstop.

A series of demonstrations will be held along the Border next week telling UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to "back off" on plans to trigger Article 16.

It could take 10 years to develop a technical solution for a frictionless Irish border after Brexit a trade expert has told MPs.

An old conflict and a new Border: How Britain's exit from the European Union could threaten 20 years of peace in Northern Ireland.

With the threat of a hard border looming, we look at how Northern Ireland came to this.

An Irishman’s Diary about the Drummully Polyp.

British government has broken its own solemn legal and political commitments.

EU sources say PM seemed taken aback when shown implications of his Brexit plan.

Unnamed EU officials claim ‘penny dropped’ for PM during talks over future of Irish border. / Opponents of Brexit have accused Boris Johnson of being “out of his depth” after claims emerged of a “penny dropping moment” during his meeting with EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker earlier this week.

PM says checks will exist on goods travelling through Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Republic.

Boris Johnson is demanding complete secrecy from the European Union as the Government dispatches its “take it or leave” Brexit blueprint to Brussels.

PM repeats discredited claim "there will be no checks" between NI and GB.

On the 21st anniversary of the Omagh bombing, the prime minister's brinkmanship over a no-deal Brexit manages to be both morally indefensible and utterly stupid.

Bloc leaders say UK must fully implement post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland.

Johnson and prominent members of his ruling Conservative Party have publicly called for the scrapping or radical overhaul of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Tory leadership frontrunner sparks fierce backlash after using Daily Telegraph column to argue that Northern Ireland border problems could be solved using the "spirit" of the Apollo 11 mission.

Boris Johnson has said he would refuse to pay the promised £39bn to the EU unless it offers better terms on Brexit.

Democratic candidate had warned trade deal was dependent on respecting EU Brexit deal.

Would-be prime minister criticised for claiming ‘fear of Farage’ will force Brussels into climbdown – and for backing Irish border technology that does not exist.

Report cites leaked proposals for clearance areas 5-10 miles from border and real-time tracking of goods.

TORY leadership contender Boris Johnson's plans for solving the vexed issue of the post-Brexit Irish border have been dismissed as "fantasy".

The European Union is "open but not convinced" by the UK PM's new proposals for a Brexit deal with the EU, the president of the European Council says.

New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s big tour of the U.K. saw him booed by EU supporters in Wales and heckled by nationalists in Scotland. Northern Ireland’s fractious parties then told him that his Brexit plans were reopening old wounds.

UK proposals "do not match even remotely" Northern Irish backstop plan, says steering group.

North’s economy will be closer to Republic’s in terms of rules, regulations and practices.

British proposal to involve Stormont assembly in backstop alternative knocked back by EU.

Downing Street beats a hasty retreat after leak shows backsliding on Good Friday Agreement pledges. / There is near-unanimous political outrage in Ireland over a leaked British government plan to throw up a “buffer zone” with customs posts on the Irish border. Parties across the political spectrum branded it “out of the question”.

The latest of our Bremainers Ask…. feature, where Bremain in Spain members ask topical questions of prominent individuals involved in the European Union debate, is with Michael Dougan – Professor of European Law and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law at the University of Liverpool.

Companies have stopped investing in favour of holding onto cash in case it's needed after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Wales Governance Centre Annual Lecture - 2021 - Brigid Laffan: This lecture analyses how Ireland responded to Brexit and the manner in which Brexit disturbed the delicate political and institutional balances that were central to the Good Friday Agreement.

Internal market bill would endanger future trade deals, says Kim Darroch, the former British ambassador to the US.

A DUP Mournes councillor has blamed Brexit for causing a Northern Ireland workforce shortage. / Newry, Mourne and Down District Council agreed a motion this week to seek extended UK working visas for EU citizens from six months to two years.

Northern Ireland politicians are making a last-ditch attempt to break a political impasse triggered by Brexit that has stopped the formation of a functioning government in Belfast.

A united Ireland could emerge within the next 25 years given the "disaster" created by Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, a former British government cabinet minister has predicted.

Customs expert warns that open border between tariff regimes was an invitation to smuggle.

Northern Ireland is the smallest nation in the UK, but the border with the Republic of Ireland could become one of the biggest parts of the Brexit negotiations. So why is the Irish border so important?

The Border is a sticking point in Brexit negotiations, but why?

EU and UK negotiators reach a new Brexit agreement that would avoid a hard border.

Even the keenest Brexiteer must feel that the process has been tortuously long. / That has been, in large part, because successive British governments have refused to accept the trade-off between untrammelled sovereignty and friction-free access to the EU’s single market, a refusal that shapes today’s increasingly testy relationship.

Stormont committee also hears many small businesses unprepared for customs workload.

The Treaty of Versailles established arrangements to prevent a hard border between Germany and Poland in Silesia. It failed, becoming a flashpoint in the relationship between the two countries. Even a permanent backstop is a poorer guarantor of peace in Northern Ireland than remaining in the EU. (Thea Don-Siemion)

The Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, has complained to EU ambassadors that Brussels is failing to come up with ideas for replacing the Irish backstop as talks with the bloc became stuck in an “impasse”.

Newly elected Brexit Party MEP elect Martin Daubney suffered a bruising encounter with BBC Radio Ulster’s Stephen Nolan who challenged him on what the party’s policy would be towards the Irish border.

A Brexit Party MEP has been left stumped by a presenter's simple request to explain his party's policy on the Irish border.

Cross-border trade has received a massive boost since the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, according to figures published by the UK Government.

Dr Amanda Kramer, Brexit Law NI, on the pervasive sense of unease around Brexit in Northern Ireland. She says loyalists fear the growing discussion around Irish unity, dissident republicans see Brexit as a colonial scourge and a "gift from God". / Lord Patten not optimistic about British chances of cutting trade deals nor impressed with Brexiteer solutions to avoid hard borders.

What's the latest on the backstop post-Salzburg? What type of custom checks are the European Commission proposing? Take us to the (Irish) Whiskey Bar post-Brexit? From geographical indicators to being grouped in with pornography and the arms trade, William Lavelle, head of the Irish Whiskey Association, outlines the challenges ahead for the industry.

Ambassador Declan Kelleher about the conduct of negotiations, red lines, the border on the island of Ireland, and the upcoming UK cabinet meeting at Chequers. / Jill Rutter, Institute for Government's Programme Director and an expert commentator on Brexit among other things. The IfG is seen as having an "up close" view of the UK government's thinking.

Could a new House of Commons amendment put pressure back on Ireland over the backstop? What does no deal mean for a hard border? (Multiple choice). And how has Davos been tackling Brexit questions?

What do defections to the Independent Group for Theresa May's Brexit negotiations? Will Middle Eastern leaders help their European counterparts find peace in Sharm El Sheikh at this weekend's summit?

Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson leads the Tory pack by a distance - all done then? / RTÉ London Correspondent Fiona Mitchell, Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor look at what the race means for Brexit. Also - Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok on the border in Ireland if there's no deal.

As the Conservative Party in the UK enters the final phase of its leadership race, the contenders were encouraged by European leaders to be realistic about what they could expect to achieve on Brexit when they enter No. 10 Downing Street.

Red wine on the couch, Alternative Arrangements on the Border, Tory leadership hopefuls on the campaign trail and the EU on 'no deal' high alert.

Brexit Republic is back, to delve into the unprecedented convulsions wracking the British political system. In his first tangle with parliament, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has suffered a sequence of embarrassing defeats.

Lisa Chambers believes the Irish govt oversold the Joint EU-UK December Brexit report & why 'megaphone diplomacy' has strengthened the Brexiteers' hand in the UK Conservative Party. / Helen McEntee responds to opposition criticism of the Government's approach, says she's confident that the backstop guarantee is still 'cast iron' & that's why a hard North-South border is not being planned for.

UK PM Boris Johnson went to Manchester to address his party conference for the first time as leader proposing a new UK alternative to the backstop - the Northern Ireland/Ireland protocol.

The backstop is dead, long live a new solution for the island of Ireland. Tony Connelly, Sean Whelan and Colm Ó Mongáin will bring you through how the deal was done, and depending on when you're listening to this, what are the chances of, to quote Boris Johnson, Getting Brexit Done and getting it through the House of Commons.

US House of Representatives speaker visited the Irish border on Thursday morning.

More would vote to stay in EU if there were another vote now, compared with 2016.

EU warns patience wearing “very thin” as tensions between the two sides escalate.

Economic and political disenfranchisement are key drivers in the current swell of political violence in Northern Ireland, writes Séamas O'Reilly.

My grandfather, who died the same week as the Brexit vote, experienced the humiliation of crossing checkpoints just to see his family.

The political reality is that the United Kingdom is on a shoogly peg - and Brexit may be catalyst which breaks up the country.

On 7 October last year, there was a defining phone call between Boris Johnson and Angel Merkel.

Northern Irish civil society groups warn May replacement hopefuls of no deal’s ‘devastating impact’.

Five years after the Brexit vote, the costs of that decision are becoming clearer.

Agreement will guarantee the free movement of people between the two countries. / The British and Irish governments will on Wednesday sign a deal to guarantee that rights offered by the Common Travel Area (CTA) will continue after the United Kingdom quits the European Union.

Britain will spend 705 million pounds on border infrastructure to help keep trade flowing after its transition deal with the European Union expires at the end of the year, Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove said on Sunday.

EU officials have said they are ready to work through the weekend if the UK comes forward with an "acceptable" plan to resolve the impasse over the Northern Ireland backstop, the BBC reported.

THE BRITISH government is thwarting the north's potential to exploit trading difficulties in the Republic created by Brexit, according to Alliance's deputy leader. / Mr Farry said the official statistics illustrated that the "nonsense of Brexit brings wide-ranging consequences", including for large aspects of the supply chain into the Republic.

European Union judges must have a role overseeing Northern Ireland’s Brexit arrangements, a senior EU official has said in rejection to British demands.

Buying a ham sandwich in Derry and walking across the Border to eat it in Donegal could be illegal from Saturday week, an act of smuggling. As could that family weekly supermarket shopping trip to Newry from Dundalk.

Customs expert says extra costs and delays will harm small businesses and WTO rules would ‘kill UK farming’

I've been tagged in this because I was on #Newsnight on the same panel, but I wasn't asked to respond to this claim about Dominic Raab. So I thought it might be helpful to share the actual clip from the Panorama documentary referenced, showing Barnier talking about Raab.

A resolution has been introduced in the US Congress opposing the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland.

The US has outlined its objectives for a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK, demanding greater access to the food markets where products such as chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef are currently banned under EU rules.

UK PM Boris Johnson had been wildly happy about his new EU exit deal; then he introduced a law undermining both it, and the last round of trade negotiations. Speaking with two former permanent secretaries of the UK’s EU exit department, Matt Ross asks whether Johnson is applying firm leverage – or deliberately sabotaging the trade talks.

BORIS Johnson allegedly signed the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement on a "fraudulent" basis, the Court of Appeal has heard.

More than 100 medics and nurses must now be registered in both the UK and Republic of Ireland due to their involvement in cross-border transfers and all-island work.

Cross-border trade in Ireland has increased dramatically since the start of 2021, official data suggests.

When Brexit happens, the UK will suddenly have a major land border with the EU - the frontier between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The 48% of Britons who voted Remain in the EU exit referendum last year need to be taken into account in the negotiation process which just got underway, said Polish MEP Danuta Hübner, the powerful chair of the European Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee.

Former Brexit secretary David Davis was mocked and criticised by Brussels figures during torturous EU exit negotiations, with one adviser suggesting he did not “give a f**k” about the Irish border, a new documentary reveals.

BORDER Force officers from other jurisdictions may be drafted into Northern Ireland in the event of a no deal Brexit.

President-elect says peace in Northern Ireland must not be casualty of Brexit.

Wrong to ‘conflate’ issues, Boris Johnson’s spokesman insists – after US official said talks were on hold because of Article 16 fears.

The Tory leadership race has brought a no-deal Brexit closer. Most candidates have either elevated No Deal to a heightened form of Brexit - a "clean" Brexit - or have insisted it is preferable to an extension beyond the current Article 50 deadline of 31 October.

Non-Irish EU citizens will need US-style waiver to cross border.

As the EU and UK continue to prepare for the trade negotiations, there are clear signs that all is not well when it comes to implementing the divorce part of Brexit, in particular the Irish Protocol.

EU proposes the UK temporarily align on plant and animal rules to remove Irish Sea checks.

Michel Barnier says 'we're not really in a position where we're able to find an agreement'.

The European Commission said the UK suggestions 'fall short of satisfying all the objectives of the backstop'

Ireland’s Leo Varadkar says PM’s pledge of no hard border contradicts written proposal.

More than 100 grants previously approved for applicants in Britain have been scrapped amid a continuing dispute over the UK’s refusal to fully implement trade arrangements made when the country left the European Union.

Sources say PM’s insistence on Ireland customs border means there is no basis for discussions

EU says prime minister presented no real proposals and seems to seek return of hard border in Ireland.

EU law expert, Professor Michael Dougan dissects Boris Johnson’s proposed deal to take the UK out of the EU if he is successful in the forthcoming General Election.

But under the proposal, the Northern Ireland-only backstop would remain in place indefinitely if a future trade deal is not agreed.

Michel Barnier makes final offer on Irish border that falls short of Theresa May's demands.

The EU is expected to launch legal action against the UK government on Wednesday over its decision to scrap some post-Brexit trade arrangements.

The European Union sued Britain on Wednesday (local time) over its move to rewrite the trade rules agreed to when the country left the EU two years ago, ratcheting up tensions between the major economic partners.

Michel Barnier tells EU ministers that British proposals so far aren't good enough.

A top European Union official said Wednesday that Britain could face retaliatory tariffs or other sanctions after talks failed to resolve an increasingly heated dispute over implementation of their post-Brexit trade deal in Northern Ireland.

The European Commission has issued a fresh warning that it will not reopen the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement as Theresa May prepared for further talks in Brussels.

Barnier pours scorn on PM’s Irish border proposal as it would not avoid customs and VAT checks post-Brexit.

European Council President Donald Tusk said on Tuesday British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s demands to drop the Brexit backstop came with no “realistic alternatives” and amounted to seeking a return to controls along the sensitive Irish border.

Top European Union and British officials failed to get a breakthrough at talks on Northern Ireland trade rules and said Friday that contact would continue over the coming weeks

No "magical solution" for the Irish border, top civil servant in charge of the issue says.

When the most anti-EU newspapers are pointing to the policy’s inevitable failures, it’s time our government admitted the truth.

Food industry is ‘completely integrated’ on island of Ireland, say farmers’ groups.

MPs claim failure to implement a robust customs regime in Northern Ireland will lead to international criminals, including drug traffickers, making plans to target a soft border.

He was booed in Scotland. In Wales, a chicken submitted to his embrace, but politicians held him at arm’s length. And in Northern Ireland, there were rumblings of Irish unity — which could only come at the expense of its ties to the rest of the United Kingdom.

Minister says withdrawal agreement including backstop will not be renegotiated.

Northern Ireland has purchased more than £60m worth of services from the Republic in the last five years.

The Chairman of the US House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee has issued a fresh warning that there will be no trade deal between the US and the UK if Brexit leads to the return of a hard border.

The German Foreign Minster has said Germany will not support any Brexit agreement that results in a hard border on the Island of Ireland. Heiko Maas was addressing a conference of Irish ambassadors and diplomatic mission chiefs in Dublin Castle.

Gove says NI now have the best of both worlds as they’ve unfettered access to EU Single Market & UK Single Market. / Hold on. This “best of both worlds” scenario is exactly what we had in 2016. So WTF have we just burned £200bn on Brexit for? Some fish??

Corbyn says claims that leaked dossier warning of no-deal chaos is outdated ‘can’t be trusted’.

The EU's Brexit Steering Group said it had 'grave concerns' about the proposals, which it said cannot be backed 'in their current form'.

Richard Haass, president at Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the state of Brexit amid a change of leadership in the U.K.

Research by Unesco chiefs highlights risk to peace in event of rushed border poll.

Simon Byrne said worst-case scenario would see farms going bust and potential unrest.

Simon Byrne says his officers could be killed if they had to patrol border checkpoints.

This is not just a tale of selfless cross-party unity in the face of a national crisis – it is also a strategic choice on the part of the country's two biggest parties.

Brexiteer Steve Baker, who is now a Northern Ireland Minister, has apologised for his 'ferocious' stance on negotiations with the EU.

What should we call a project that poleaxes the economy, destroys our global reputation and threatens political stability in Northern Ireland? If we had known what would come to pass, how would we have voted on it six years ago?

The course of Brexit was set in the hours and days after the 2016 referendum. / It was at 6:22 a.m. on June 24, 2016 — 59 minutes before the official tally was unveiled — that the European Council sent its first “lines to take” to the national governments that make up the EU.

Liverpool Law School‘s Professor Michael Dougan considers the outstanding legal issues surrounding Ireland and Northern Ireland ... “Northern Ireland risks becoming the primary victim of the UK government’s hardline approach to implementing the result of the 2016 referendum.”

The question, set less by Brussels than the logic of Brexit, is how the UK government can in one move leave the European union’s single market and customs while also maintaining the flow of trade and people on its one land border with the bloc in Ireland.

Hundreds of people have taken part in a number of demonstrations on the Irish border in opposition to Brexit. / Border Communities Against Brexit organised the protests to mark the day after Britain had been due to leave the European Union.

Simon Coveney dampens hopes that Boris Johnson’s border proposal is a game-changer.

Irish government says there is no prospect of rethink in Brexit stalemate.

Following a Cabinet meeting at Derrynane in Co Kerry, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that the Government will hire over 1,000 new customs and veterinary inspectors before 2021 to administer at our ports and airports as Ireland prepares for a possible hard Brexit.

The contenders to become Britain’s prime minister should not “dumb down” the issues Brexit presents for the Irish border by suggesting simplistic solutions, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Friday.

Ireland is increasingly concerned that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to completely rewrite the Northern Ireland section of the Brexit deal, RTE reported on Monday after London said the agreement was not sustainable.

In this week's Maphead, Ken Jennings explores a barely-there anomaly on the Irish border: the Drummully Polyp.

Study for German Green party says backstop could let UK flout EU green and social standards.

Exclusive: leaked report says at present there is no deliverable alternative to the backstop

Survey reveals devastating emotional impact as people in area fear return of hard border.

A no-deal Brexit will mean checks somewhere on goods travelling across the Irish border and a change of UK leadership won't change things. "Realities do not change. This is not a personality based issue"

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Simon Coveney about the latest developments regarding Britain's exit from the European Union and Ireland's upcoming seat on the U.N. Security Council.

Simon Coveney also warns no deal is more likely than ever. / Ireland’s foreign minister has blasted the “inaccurate” discussion of Brexit taking place during the Conservative leadership contest.

Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee says the UK's actions over Brexit have set talks back and "damaged trust" between Britain and Ireland. / She told Sophy Ridge it is "simply not the case" that the EU has threatened to block food supplies between Northem Ireland and Great Britain and bring in a full scale trade border down the Irish Sea.

The British government appears to have no political will to resolve its festering trade dispute with the European Union and risks endangering the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said Wednesday.

Irish cabinet ministers will meet on Tuesday to hear of the “dire” consequences of a no-deal Brexit on Ireland and the all-Ireland economy.

Prime minister’s ‘take it or leave it’ proposals described as unworkable and illegal.

Two leaders to meet on Monday after British PM seemed to soften stance on backstop.

Fiach Kelly: The main threat from a crashout is political and constitutional, not economic.

Claire Byrne offers poignant reminder to negotiators that 'we can never allow a return to violence'.

Brexit was to allow the United Kingdom to reclaim its former glory. Instead, the country's leaders have bumbled their way into catastrophe. Built on a false premise from the start, the UK's move away from the EU has been dominated by mistakes and miscalculations.

The huge row with a caller over the Northern Irish border that left James O'Brien with his head in his hands has reached number 5 in his top 10 chart.

James O’Brien received support over his Brexit explanation on the Irish backstop from an unlikely source... Theresa May.

The president of America will tell Boris Johnson not to let the row over Northern Ireland's Brexit arrangements put the Good Friday Agreement at risk as the two meet up in Cornwall ahead of G7 summit on Thursday.

US President-elect had previously said the Good Friday Agreement must not "become a casualty of Brexit".

No hint of contrition or constructiveness in article by Lord Frost and Brandon Lewis... just menace.

Boris Johnson agreed in the final hours of the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiations that there would be customs declarations on goods exiting Northern Ireland to Britain, despite the fact that just three weeks later he told businesses in the North there would be "no forms, no checks, no barriers of any kind…," according to a detailed new account of the protocol negotiations.

There remains “real incomprehension, in Britain, of the objective, sometimes mechanical consequences of its choices."

Accusations come as PM is set to meet Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin.

EU gives go-ahead to weekend meetings after PM appears to backtrack on customs stance.

DUP isolated in backing plan, which could ‘destroy economy and Good Friday agreement’

Simon Coveney says British prime minister’s Commons statements ‘very unhelpful’.

Scientific collaboration has become a casualty of Switzerland’s and the United Kingdom’s tussles with the European Union.

Medicines will also be subject to shortages, according to ‘realistic assessment’. / The UK will face a three-month meltdown at its ports, a hard Irish border and shortages of food and medicine if it leaves the EU without a deal, according to government documents on Operation Yellowhammer.

Irish prime minister says he will study the plans further and consult with other EU leaders.

Almost seven years on from the Brexit referendum, there remains uncertainty over the future UK-EU relationship. Reflecting on the lessons from the last seven years, Neil Kinnock argues there remains a clear case for the UK being an economic, political, social, scientific and cultural part of the Europe of the future.

PM on collision course with Joe Biden and EU if he pushes ahead with "lamentable" proposals.

It took an event unrelated to the Irish Sea border furore to set a match to simmering tensions.

French president tells Boris Johnson he must present concrete proposals for UK exit.

German chancellor puts responsibility for crashing out of EU firmly at UK PM’s door.

This evening, Michel Barnier said the EU was ready to offer Britain a unilateral exit from the customs union while maintaining the other elements of the backstop.

Brussels fears prime minister has ‘lost control’ of events and warns that hopes of an agreement are now ‘very low’.

EU’s top negotiator tells MEPs Britain has not offered credible proposals for Irish border.

THE Garda Commissioner says additional policing will be needed to patrol the border in the event of a hard Brexit.

Pro-British loyalist militants in Northern Ireland said on Friday there had been a "spectacular collective failure" to understand their anger over Brexit and other issues as there was some respite in street clashes following a week of riots.

A WARNING by the powerful Irish-American business lobby that a US-UK trade deal would be blocked in the event of a hard Brexit has been welcomed by nationalists.

NEW Chief Constable Simon Byrne has warned of the dangers a hard Brexit poses to the stability of Northern Ireland.

This week the pair plot out alternative Brexit futures, ponder whether the the border problem could have been solved a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and crown a Brexiteer of the Week.

New IRA says border infrastructure would be ‘legitimate target for attack’. In an interview with Channel 4 News, the group said it was committed to ‘armed actions’ against border infrastructure – and ‘the people who are manning them’.

The UK Government's plans for red and green lanes for checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK will require the construction of "enhanced facilities" at ports, a minister has said.

Ireland’s deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar said the Irish will "absolutely be making their views known" on the matter.

A new grassroots activist group has been formed to campaign against borders being introduced in Ireland.

A no-deal Brexit could increase the risk of attacks on police officers in Northern Ireland, the head of the country's police force has said.

Tariffs to slash trade with Republic and severely damage farmers and food businesses, says government report.

Leo Varadkar says UK and EU will still have to negotiate, with same problems on agenda.

A leading dairy co-operative has warned that a no-deal Brexit would "wipe out" profitability in the dairy sector.

Spokesman says it is ‘pretty obvious’ border controls would be needed in this scenario

Some 45,000 dairy cows could be culled in Northern Ireland, in the event of a no-deal Brexit if new higher tariffs are applied to British milk, senior industry figures have warned.

The Dutch Prime Minister has said Boris Johnson’s ideas about implementing a transition period after a no-deal Brexit are not possible.

Blind people and people who require assistance dogs for other medical reasons would need to enter Ireland at “approved” entry points.

A leaked cross-government study warning of the impact of a no-deal Brexit outlines a "worst-case scenario", cabinet minister Michael Gove has said.

The UK is refusing to table a new plan for a Northern Ireland border backstop in Brexit talks – raising the prospect of disastrous no-deal as the negotiating deadline looms.

Northern Ireland minister say government cannot be expected to provide businesses with all information 'from day one'.

Northern Ireland’s agriculture department has refused to reveal its plans for cross-border animal and food health checks under a no-deal Brexit, on the grounds that disclosure would have a “damaging effect” on “international relations”.

Police on both sides of the open border fear if checkpoints return after Brexit they could become a target for militant groups opposed to peace in the region.

EU leaders have stressed the Northern Ireland protocol must be implemented fully by Boris Johnson to respect the 'rule of law' during a press conference at the G7 in Cornwall on Thursday.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has responded to UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s assertion that the legislation to set aside aspects of the Northern Ireland protocol is “not a big deal”.

It would be "profoundly tragic" if the government moves to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, a senior Labour figure has said.

The Northern Ireland secretary has been accused of using the peace process as a “bargaining tool”, after linking a £300m grant to the passing of Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

Northern Ireland was created 100 years ago Monday, but the day passed with little fanfare.

England’s casual indifference to the border question has betrayed the post-Troubles generation.

'Your crazy no-deal Brexit may not hurt the super wealthy in London but it'll certainly hurt ordinary people here'

The Prime Minister has previously insisted that a hard border in Ireland can be prevented through technology and a 'can-do spirit'.

Since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, the Government has announced it is spending an extra £2bn on no-deal contingency planning.

Companies including Coca Cola, Norbrook Laboratories write open letter to British MPs.

With Tory leadership favourite Boris Johnson saying the UK “must” and “will” leave the EU on 31 October, a no-deal Brexit looks increasingly likely. But what could a no-deal exit mean for all of us?

Ex-chancellor says both Remain and Leave supporters during 2016 vote want "smooth" exit.

Labour's Lord Falconer tells HuffPost UK internal market bill could cost Britain a "terrible price" with peers set to defeat government.

The SNP leader in the House of Commons tells Boris Johnson his plans are unworkable, unacceptable and undeliverable. He says that if the Northern Ireland assembly can have a veto on the Brexit plans, Scotland should get one too.

Almost 1,000 officers from rest of UK to start training to deal with trouble arising from hard border

Local firms worry border closure and duties will lead to smuggling and chaos.

Prime minister expected to press EU leaders to dedicate attention to faltering negotiations.

A new "hard" border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland could have dire economic consequences for both sides -- and reignite old feuds. Now Dublin is playing hardball with British negotiators.

This Communication explains the measures that the Commission adopted today, 19 December 2018, in response to that call, together with other crucial steps in the implementation of its Contingency Action Plan.

“The dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric emanating from Boris Johnson’s Government is now undermining all of the progress we have made in recent years."

Border Communities Against Brexit will protest at five locations on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic in support of the protocol.

The Chief Constable Simon Byrne has told Boris Johnson the PSNI will not police any customs checkpoints on the Northern Ireland border after Brexit.

Sabine Weyand, the EU's Deputy Brexit negotiator, gives her thoughts in a panel discussion on the Irish backstop, Theresa May's Brexit deal and the EU's future relationship with the UK.

Government breaks its promise on no customs checks in the island of Ireland / Is Johnson throwing Ireland under the Boris Bus (again)? / Priti Patel decides that Britain is not a country but a Russell Group university. / What really makes Dominic Cummings tick? / Chris Southworth of the International Chamber of Commerce gives us the latest on those amazing WTO terms

Leaked papers obtained by the Guardian show extent of fundamental objections Brussels has raised.

UK refuses request from Brussels for Northern Ireland presence for second time.

Tory leadership candidate Sajid Javid has said he would pay “hundreds of millions” to the Republic of Ireland in a bid to try and resolve the Irish border dispute.

The US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has sent a letter to the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warning that he will strongly oppose any US-UK trade deal that undermines the Good Friday Agreement or facilitates a return to a hard border.

Irish premier says it is 'alarming' that Tory leadership contenders want to remove safeguard against hard border.

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock says talks need to avoid opening ‘old wounds’.

Andrew Marr: “Would the EU block goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain?” / Simon Coveney: “Sorry, there is no blockade proposed. And that is the type of inflammatory language coming from No 10 which is spin. And not truth"

Sir Jonathan Jones, head of the Government’s Legal Service, has resigned reportedly over Boris Johnson’s plans to tweak the Northern Ireland protocol.

Comedy mockumentary following the independent cross-border body as they deal with bodies crossing the border, be they human, animal or fish.

The director of Europe’s oldest research centre on terrorism is “extremely worried” about the prospect of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.

A POLL has shown that almost three out of five voters in Northern Ireland support a "border in the Irish Sea" to avoid an estimated 40,000 job losses linked to a no-deal Brexit.

An independent unionist MP has warned the British Government that a no-deal Brexit will lead to "greater violence" by dissident republicans along the border which will spark a "backlash" from loyalists.

A hard border in Ireland must be avoided, the Irish premier has urged Rishi Sunak.

Trade has plummeted and red tape has blocked our borders. Is that what ‘protecting our sovereignty’ meant?

In this film, senior FT writers and British businesspeople examine how Brexit hit the UK economy, the political conspiracy of silence, and why there has not yet been a convincing case for a 'Brexit dividend'.

But the UK’s departure means far-reaching changes for the Irish economy. We are already seeing signs of how things may shake out and the really fundamental changes it means for many businesses, for consumers and for trade.

An EU healthcare option, no longer available in the UK due to Brexit, was growing in popularity on both sides of the Irish border, figures have shown.

As Brexit looms, nationalists in Northern Ireland are increasingly looking to Dublin for representation. Now, as Ben Kelly explains, political parties are responding in new, innovative ways.

The increasingly shrill nature of the rhetoric around Brexit is a worrying development that has the potential to do as much damage to Irish-British relations in the longer term as the practical consequences of the process itself.

The United Kingdom’s Brexit plan appears to have prompted a wave of attacks from the so-called New IRA, a dissident group that never accepted the peace agreement signed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army two decades ago.

This article is going to try and explain lots of different things which all form part of the ‘what’s going on right now’ picture.

People have built up lives and businesses with an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As the UK edges closer to a no deal Brexit cross border communities around Carlingford Lough explain their worries and fears of a hard border returning ahead of the UK leaving Europe.

The spectacular collapse of the pound against the US dollar has shattered the illusion that Britain is entitled in perpetuity to special status among the world elite.

The UK has proposed the creation of a string of customs posts along both sides of the Irish border as part of its effort to replace the #brexit backstop, RTÉ News understands.

Martin Wolf: Britain’s demands for its negotiations with the EU are unrealistic.

The U.K. government has pushed ahead with controversial plans to unilaterally override post-Brexit trade rules, ratcheting up the risk of a trade war as the European Union prepares to take retaliatory legal action.

In a joint appearance at Ulster University on Thursday, former prime ministers Tony Blair and John Major speak about the risks of voting to leave the EU. Major says a Brexit vote would mean a second Scottish independence referendum. Blair says it would also mean closing the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic

Former prime ministers stress impact of leave vote on Irish and Scottish relations with UK after referendum

‘It would be economically very, very dangerous for Britain, and for the peace process in Ireland it would potentially be devastating’

Former Vote Leave bigwig Sir Bernard Jenkin held nine private dinners, funded by donors, to discuss the Northern Ireland border row - and he refuses to say who attended the soirees.

The UK worries about being “trapped” in a backstop – but can’t present an alternative. / Toxic language is defining the Brexit debate. It is turning an intensely complex and complicated subject into something being argued over emotionally, certainly in the UK.

Imports from Northern Ireland to Ireland up 23%, while trade in other direction increases by 42%.

Irish troops could return to the border in the event of a botched Brexit, the Irish prime minister has warned.

European Council President Donald Tusk has said that a letter sent to him by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson included no "realistic alternatives" to the backstop.

Tusk ‘fully behind Ireland’ as MEPs reject UK Brexit proposals.

Special trade arrangements will apply from 1 January whether Johnson strikes deal or not.

UK rejected initial request from Brussels during negotiations on post-Brexit Irish border controls.

The British government's lack of understanding and overly political approach to post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland has left businesses there in the dark, a Westminster committee has claimed.

A former British diplomat, who was Boris Johnson's Brexit counsellor in Washington, has spoken of her dismay and anger at his administration’s attitude to the Irish border question when he became Prime Minister in July 2019.

Karen Wheeler’s resignation stokes fears the UK will not be ready for a no-deal Brexit by October. / The government official in charge of delivering “frictionless” Brexit border arrangements, including emergency plans for Dover and Ireland in the event of no deal, has quit just two years into her job.

Britain is proposing to set up “customs clearance centres” on both sides of the Irish border after Brexit in order to avoid the need for border checks on the border itself, Irish state broadcaster RTE reported on Monday.

Concerns raised after reports negotiating team told to devise plans to ‘get around’ protocol in withdrawal agreement.

Leo Varadkar says government must submit plans in writing before EU summit in October.

Tariffs will be cut to zero on 87% of imports to the UK as part of a temporary no-deal plan but prices of some imports including meat, shoes, underpants and cars will go up.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay says UK should be given ‘until December 2020’ to come up with plan for Irish border.

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives said today that a breakdown in the talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol would be “problematic” for a post-Brexit UK-US trade deal.

UNELECTED UK Government minister Malcolm Offord has insisted the Tories have not conned the public over Brexit.

Richard Neal says US is a ‘guarantor’ of agreement and will not see it compromised.

Taoiseach wants to keep a guarantee there will be no return to hard borders. / Leo Varadkar has said that removing the border backstop would be as bad for Ireland as a no-deal Brexit.

A leaked letter has revealed concerns about the "significant impact" of Brexit on vulnerable children requiring cross-border care by Northern Ireland social workers.

'I keep hearing my fellow unionists complaining that their anger over the existence of the Northern Ireland Protocol is not being recognised or taken seriously.'

The Democratic Unionist Party had an outsized voice in Westminster during Britain’s Brexit negotiations.

Politicians have been bickering about Brexit for the past two years, but everything that has happened so far is just figuring out how we leave the EU - we still have to sort out what kind of relationship we have once we have actually left.

As the British government continues to debate the kind of customs relationship it wants with the European Union after Brexit, one question looms large: how will it solve the Irish border problem?

Theresa May's Brexit deal has been defeated by MPs and the UK is creeping closer to leaving the EU without a deal. But how does a no-deal Brexit actually affect you?

With the UK’s exit from the European Union, the challenge of managing the Irish border as a source and a symbol of British-Irish difference became an international concern. The solution found in the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement gives the Irish border a globally unique status.

Mr Johnson told his cabinet this week that leaving the EU without a deal should hold “no fear” for Britain, but was he right?

This means the UK would immediately leave the European Union (EU) with no agreement about the "divorce" process.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson referred for the second successive day on Thursday to "an excellent paper" endorsed by pro-Brexit members of parliament proposing alternatives to replace the so-called Irish backstop.

None of the EU27 have expressed support, but not all have actually shared their opinions on the new proposals.

Fresh from scandals and an attempted ousting, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest plan is to tear up key parts of a post-Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland he made himself less than three years ago.

Northern Ireland hauliers who service the island of Ireland fear they will be among the first to suffer if a hard Brexit takes place.

We may never know exactly what Conservative MP Chris Heaton-Harris intended to do with the information he tried to obtain on academics who teach about Brexit. But it certainly shouldn’t be treated as “just a polite request for information” as if this were some routine event.

World Trade Organization (WTO) rules are clear that checks would be required between EU-member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland if Britain crashed out of the bloc without an exit deal, the minister for the region said on Monday.

Environment secretary admits other nations could have a case against no-deal Brexit proposal.

Ursula von der Leyen says EU will ‘never backtrack’ on withdrawal agreement.

Many people in Britain are unaware that Ireland is a separate country at all.

Parliament Brexit chief says proposal is ‘mainly a repackaging of the bad ideas that have already been floated in the past’.

South Armagh people unsure of impact on them if UK crashes out of EU.

Outspoken Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen was left silenced by a radio host in a cringe-inducing interview about the Irish border.

Brexit Proof meets the couple behind Cafe Cuan, an independent coffee shop and event space, in Belfast.

EU member states are consulting on proposals to scrap seasonal clock changes.

Northern Ireland’s economic performance shows the post-Brexit agreement has been ‘a success’, Ireland’s deputy PM has said.