Proposed legislation to disapply part of the Northern Ireland Protocol is not the way forward, Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Sir Keir accepted there were practical problems with the protocol but said he thought they could be fixed through negotiations, “guile and hard work”.
The Labour leader met the SDLP leader and Foyle MP Colum Eastwood and party colleage Claire Hanna MP at Stormont along with Shadown Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle.
They discussed protocol legislation, legacy proposals and the future of the institutions.
AFterwards Mr Eastwood said: “It’s refreshing to have discussions with a British politician who gets it, someone who is a grown up.’’
The Labour Party delegation also met the Alliance Party for talks.
The NI protocol creates a trade border in the Irish Sea.
It comes after Sir Keir visited Dublin, where he said issues posed by the Northern Ireland Protocol can be overcome with flexibility, good faith and trust.
The protocol was a major topic of discussion in Friday’s talks.
He met Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald in Belfast on Thursday and was not expected to speak to the DUP or Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) as he met members from those parties recently in Westminster.
Sir Keir’s last visit to the North of Ireland was almost a year ago when he took in Derry and walked along the Peace Bridge.
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