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Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie has warned that unionists must not be “bounced on a deal” on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

He was speaking after what he described as a “very frank and very open” meeting with Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin in Belfast.

“We talked about the protocol, it is becoming incredibly frustrating, we are not being kept in the loop as to what is happening in regards to the negotiations between the EU and the UK, and if we’re not involved, if they try to bounce unionism, it’s simply not going to work,” he said,

“We need to know what is going on and therefore we can add value by raising red flags where we see there are problems and giving solutions, and the Ulster Unionist Party have always been about giving solutions.

“But we cannot be bounced on a deal which is simply not going to work in the long term.

“It was a frank meeting. I am still frustrated that we haven’t moved forward more than we have and I sense as well that Micheal Martin is also frustrated that we probably haven’t moved forward.

“So, we’re going to recycle these meetings again and again, and again. What we really need is a deal between the EU and the UK that everybody can buy into, unionists, nationalists, or other.”

Northern Ireland Protocol: Unionists must not be ‘bounced on a deal’, warns UUP leader Doug Beattie