Immigration minister admits she has not read all of Good Friday Agreement or visited Irish border

Caroline Nokes says she was 'probably giving birth' when historic agreement was signed, bringing an end to the Troubles

An immigration minister has admitted she has never read the Good Friday Agreement in full or visited the Irish border during a grilling by MPs.

Caroline Nokes confessed that she had not read any Irish history "in a very long time" and she was "probably giving birth" when the historic agreement was signed 20 years ago, during an appearance before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.

Citizens can identify legally as British, Irish or both under the Good Friday Agreement but MPs have raised concerns over an "anomaly" where those born in the Republic of Ireland but have lived north of the border all their lives can struggle to get a British passport.

The threat of a hard border with Ireland has proved a key sticking point in the Brexit talks, as negotiators struggle to balance the risk of return to violence at the border with the need for customs checks between the EU and the UK.

The DUP's Gregory Campbell said the passport situation defied the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, as people had to endure a "tortuous route" of naturalisation and pay "an exorbitant fee" to get a British passport.

The Irish government waives the fees for individuals born in Northern Ireland seeking Irish citizenship.

Labour's Kate Hoey said the minister "clearly did not understand" the significance of the agreement after Ms Nokes repeatedly said that citizens from the Republic of Ireland were treated the same as others seeking British citizenship.

Asked if she had ever read any Irish history, Ms Nokes said: "Not for a very long time."

Under pressure from MPs, the minister then admitted she had never read the landmark agreement in full.

Ms Nokes said: "I haven't. 20 years ago I was probably giving birth and I have only been immigration minister for five months."

Facing questions about smuggling, Ms Nokes also admitted that she had not visited the Irish border, prompting surprise from MPs at the heart of rows over Brexit.

Tory committee chairman Andrew Murrison told her: "The important thing about this is Good Friday Agreement, the Good Friday Agreement is really very clear.

"It talks about the rights of people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish, British or both.

"These words are either rhetorical or they have meaning. Meaning means being able to be British and hold a British passport.

"Clearly those words at the moment are inappropriate insofar as we put a real hurdle to people wishing to have a British passport which is not the case for people who wish to have or find it expedient to have an Irish passport."

He urged her to tackle the issue urgently as Brexit is expected to heap pressure on immigration services.

Ms Nokes accepted there was an issue but said she would not "make sweeping assumptions about a treaty that was made 20 years ago".

The 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement was marked earlier this year, which effectively brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.