No decision has yet been taken on the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) but the situation is extremely serious, a spokesperson for UK PM Boris Johnson said on Tuesday, reported Reuters. The PM spoke to leaders from Sinn Fein (who seek union with Ireland and are now the largest party in Northern Ireland's regional parliament following weekend elections there) and the DUP (who seek to maintain union with the UK, and were formally the largest party in the regional parliament).

The spokesperson said Johnson urged them to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland. "We want to fix some of the underlying challenges" regarding the NIP, the spokesperson added. Earlier, the PM of Ireland warned the UK against any unilateral moves to overrule parts of the NIP and the PM of Belgium recently warned that if the UK didn't abide by the protocol, that would be a big problem within the EU's internal market.