The French President stirred further tension by suggesting it is "of existential importance for Europe not to compromise" on the Northern Ireland protocol. He also described the measures, introduced to avoid a hard border by effectively keeping Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market, as a "question of war and peace for Ireland".

       But UK sources insisted the French President does not understand the complexity and challenges of Northern Ireland.

       Speaking to the Daily Mail, a senior Whitehall source labelled the remarks "incendiary and ill-judged".

       As reported by Irish broadcaster RTE, Mr Macron said: "The Protocol is of existential importance for Europe not to compromise when it comes to our single market, the integrity of that, otherwise there are no longer any rules at the borders.

       "It’s a question of war and peace for Ireland.

       "So we should avoid any temptation to be less than serious."

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