Arlene Foster said she spoke with Michael Gove earlier before it was announced.

“We await to see the detail. For us the important issue on all of these matters is that we have unfettered access from Northern Ireland into Great Britain, but also that trade from Great Britain into Northern Ireland can trade freely as well, so we await to see what has happened in relation to those matters,” she told reporters in Enniskillen on Tuesday.

“I understand that Michael Gove will make a statement to Parliament tomorrow, I very much hope that the detail will become very clear then.

placeholder image — First Minister Arlene Foster speaking to the media in the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Belfast.

“Thirty-two business organisations wrote to us yesterday to say that we need clarity, and more than that a free trade agreement, so they were going wider than the protocol. And we again hope there will be a breakthrough in relation to the main negotiations as well.”