Brexit: UK tells EU it will extend grace periods on Northern Ireland border checks

EU expected to hold off on further escalation in row, despite unilateral move by Liz Truss government

Liz Truss’s government will unilaterally continue to suspend border checks on goods moving from Great Britain and Northern Ireland in a move set to heighten post-Brexit tensions with the EU.

The UK government is understood to have told the European Commission it will extend grace periods in a letter responding to legal action launched recently by Brussels over the failure to comply with the Northern Ireland protocol.

Despite politics as usual being paused while the nation mourns the Queen’s death, No 10 responded to the EU’s request for a reply to its legal infringement proceedings by the end of 15 September.