Progress on EU/UK Protocol deal has slowed down indicates Sammy Wilson

Mr Wilson also expressed concern that the Government had gone into the negotiations with “an attitude of defeat” conceding too much ground to the EU.

Asked if he thought there would be a deal this week, he said: “No I don’t. He (Mr Sunak) realises that there are barriers and hills to climb. He knows the kind of issues that have to be dealt with. I hope he does go into negotiations with a full understanding of what is required.”

As to the shape of any deal, he said: “If a deal is agreed which still keeps us in the EU single market, as ministers in the Northern Ireland Assembly we would be required by law to implement that deal and we are not going to do that.

"That’s because we believe such an arrangement is designed to take us out of the United Kingdom and indeed would take us out of the United Kingdom.

“Increasingly we would have to agree EU laws which diverge from UK laws and in doing so would separate our own country from the United Kingdom.

“We are British and we expect to be governed by British law, not Brussels law. We would certainly not collaborate in administering Brussels law in our part of the United Kingdom.”