Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement in the event of a failure to reach agreement with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

There is shared recognition of the serious problems experienced under the Protocol and the need for solutions.

Our preference is to settle this consensually and reach a positive, negotiated outcome. We have no interest in a fractious and difficult relationship with the EU but the UK Government is clear that all options remain on the table, including the invocation of Article 16.