Row over EU office in Belfast threatens to derail Brexit talks

UK refuses request from Brussels for Northern Ireland presence for second time

The Irish border question threatens to derail Brexit talks again as the depth of the row over the EU's desire to have an office in Belfast is revealed.

The UK's paymaster general, Penny Mordaunt, has written to the EU to firmly reject a repeated request for an office in Northern Ireland: The UK cannot agree to the permanent EU presence based in Belfast," she wrote.