The government’s failure to properly prepare British businesses for the huge changes in the trading relationship with Northern Ireland is having serious consequences..

Since the Protocol came into force, several lorries from Northern Ireland have been stuck in Great Britain or are returning empty and, as a result, prices have been rising and supermarket shelves have been left empty.

The Northern Ireland Protocol has to be made to work – that’s why we need urgent action to iron out these issues. But, incredibly, rather than taking concrete steps to minimise disruption, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland is in denial and simply pretending the border does not exist.

I have repeatedly called on Ministers to take urgent action to solve these problems. If they don’t pull their heads out of the sand soon, businesses and consumers in Northern Ireland are going to experience much worse over the coming weeks.