The Northern Ireland (NI) Protocol Bill references four principal legislative changes to the previously agreed Brexit arrangements.

These are:

The bill extends to 20 pages. Detail on how the proposed legislative changes would be implemented on the ground is extremely sparse, with UK cabinet ministers indicating the need for expansive dialogue with all relevant stakeholder groups.

UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss commented:

“We are ready to deliver this through talks with the EU. But we can only make progress through negotiations if the EU is willing to change the protocol itself; at the moment they aren’t," she added.

Meanwhile, reaction on the ground in Northern Ireland to yesterday’s (Monday, June 13) developments in London continues to come in.

The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) said it wants to see pragmatic solutions being found to ensure the NI Protocol is workable for every farming sector in NI, because while certain elements have been working, it is creating some difficulties within the UK internal market.

UFU president David Brown said:

"We want to see ongoing negotiations on the NI Protocol settled with immediate effect to address the series of issues it's creating.

“This is due to NI remaining within the European Union regulatory zone, while GB is considered a third country outside the EU."

The UFU said that this is creating restrictions and checks on agricultural produce, animals and plants moving from and to NI.

“Pragmatic solutions need to be found to make the NI Protocol work for agriculture in its entirety," Brown continued.

Retail NI has also responded to the latest developments at Westminster. A spokesperson for the organisation said:

"Unilateral action will make it more difficult to secure a wider agreement which would provide certainty and stability for our local business community.

"Retail NI would encourage the UK Government and EU to restart intensive negotiations with a new sense of urgency and for both sides to go the extra mile for an agreement.

"We will continue to engage with the EU and the UK Government on a solution-based approach to address the technical issues of the protocol."