Northern Irish unionist parties form alliance to oppose Brexit protocol

Four parties including DUP and Ulster Unionists issue statement warning of grave damage' under new rules

Four rival unionist parties in Northern Ireland have formed an alliance to fight the Brexit protocol, issuing a joint statement weeks after the Democratic Unionist party threatened to quit Stormont if it was not scrapped.

It is seen as a significant attempt to show that the DUP's hardline position is not isolated before the expected publication by the EU of fresh proposals to address UK demands to substantially rewrite the protocol.