Joe Biden says he was in Northern Ireland to make sure ‘the Brits didn’t screw around’

Off-hand comment on recent visit came at fundraising event in New York

Joe Biden has said he visited Northern Ireland for the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April to make sure “the Brits didn’t screw around”.

The US president made the apparently sceptical remark about the UK’s government’s approach to post-Brexit issues at a fundraising event speech in New York on Wednesday.

“I got to go back to Ireland for the Irish Accords, to make sure they weren’t … the Brits didn’t screw around and Northern Ireland didn’t walk away from their commitments,” Mr Biden said.