The United Kingdom's Telegraph reports that Rishi Sunak has been forced to “pause” his Northern Ireland protocol deal amid a backlash from senior Tories and unionists.

''The Prime Minister had hoped to unveil the plans on Monday before presenting them to the Commons on Tuesday but it is understood the move will be delayed,'' the article said.

''His officials were locked in talks with their Brussels counterparts on Sunday on how to give Northern Ireland politicians a greater say in the application of EU law after senior members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) warned the deal “would not fly” as long as it accepted the rule of the EU court.''

Meanwhile, the British pound hovered at 1.2020, remaining below the 1.24 touched early in the month after fresh inflation data offered some relief that price pressures may be finally easing.

The data has challenged the sentiment over a hawkish Bank of England that may now not need to pursue a more aggressive policy stance and may stop raising rates in March. Money markets have been pricing a 4.55% interest rate peak by September compared to 4.69% before the Consumer Price Index data.