Brexit: Joe Biden set to press Boris Johnson on Northern Ireland at G7

US president’s intervention comes as minister admits No 10 ‘underestimated’ Brexit problems

Joe Biden is expected to warn Boris Johnson not to renege on the commitments made in his Brexit deal when they meet for the first time at the G7 summit later this week.

The US president will use a meeting with the prime minister to back the Northern Ireland protocol and warn the prospect of a US-UK trade deal could be damaged if the current dispute with the EU remains unresolved, according to The Times.

However, Biden will also make it clear that he expects Brussels to stop being “bureaucratic” and adopt a more flexible approach to the implementation of the protocol, diplomatic sources told the newspaper.

There has been intense speculation about how UK-US ties might be under the Biden administration, but the president issued a statement of support for the “special relationship” ahead of his meeting with Mr Johnson on Thursday.

In an article for the Washington Post, he wrote: “In the United Kingdom, after meeting with prime minister Boris Johnson to affirm the special relationship between our nations, I will participate in the G7 summit.”

He said he wanted to “rally the world’s democracies” against major threats – including the Covid crisis and climate change – when he meets fellow world leaders at the three-day summit in Cornwall from Friday.

Mr Johnson’s Brexit minister David Frost is due to meet EU Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic to discuss the ongoing dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol in London on Wednesday.

Lord Frost accused the EU of failing to understand the protocol’s "real-world impacts on lives and livelihoods”. He also conceded in an article for the FT at the weekend that the government had “underestimated” the impact of the protocol.

Fellow minister, solicitor general Lucy Frazer, admitted on Monday that implementing protocol arrangements was “more difficult than anticipated” when the deal was struck with the EU.

She told Sky News: “As it has panned out, on the ground it is more difficult than we anticipated, and we do need to sort out that trade arrangement ... It is very difficult on the ground in terms of trade.”

Brexit minister and negotiator Lord Frost (PA)

It comes as the Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis faces was accused of an “unhelpful intervention” over the new DUP leader’s decision not to become first minister of the province.

Mr Lewis suggested on Sunday that it would be a mistake and would “make things more difficult” if Edwin Poots did not take on the top role.

Mr Poots has said he will nominate a colleague as first minister, stating he wants to focus on the party. The DUP’s Paul Givan is widely tipped to take on the role of first minister after Arlene Foster steps down.

Mr Lewis told the newspaper that Mr Poots would not necessarily have regular access to the secretary of state or prime minister.

However, Alliance leader Naomi Long said the intervention by Mr Lewis was not “helpful”, adding: “The matter of who is going to be first minister is a matter for Edwin Poots.”