Lord Frost met for talks with Maros Sefcovic on Friday and warned using Article 16 is "very much on the table". Following talks, the Prime Minister will hold a Cabinet meeting for the first time to discuss unilaterally suspending parts of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

       Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for the Eurasia Group and Treasury civil servant, said: "I understand full Cabinet - chaired by Boris Johnson - will discuss Article 16 for the first time end of next week."

       Following discussions with Lord Frost, Mr Sefcovic revealed there had been little progress with his counterpart.

       He said: "We hear a lot about article 16 at the moment, but there’ll be no doubt that triggering article 16 to seek the negotiation of the protocol would have serious consequences.

       “Serious for Northern Ireland, as it would lead to instability and unpredictability, and serious also for the EU-UK relations in general, as it would mean a rejection of EU efforts to find a consensual solution to the implementation of the protocol.”

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