Boris Johnson ramps up pressure on Sunak to pass his EU-defying protocol bill

Ex-PM claims his legislation ‘fixes all the problems’ and refuses to say whether he would back compromise

Boris Johnson has made his first public statment on protocol talks (PA Wire)

Boris Johnson has ramped up Brexiteer pressure on Rishi Sunak to defy the EU in Brexit negotiations and push on with a unilateral bill to rip up the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The prime minister is under pressure from Tory moderates to sign a compromise deal with Brussels, but No 10 is believed to have put the brakes on an agreement in a bid to win over the DUP and hardliners in the European Research Group.

Mr Johnson made his first public statement on the row on Thursday, urging Mr Sunak not to ditch the Northern Ireland Protocol bill introduced last summer when he was still at No 10.