Northern Ireland protocol – live: Boris Johnson booed as he arrives for Belfast talks

The Northern Ireland protocol can be “superseded” by future negotiations between the UK and EU, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.

Speaking to reporters, the spokesperson said: “We believe the protocol, as drafted, allows for further negotiations, improvements and enhancements to be made, to facilitate properly, to work properly for the long term.

“That’s what we want to do. We want significant changes to how the protocol is being enforced and we think there is sensible flexibility that was envisaged when it was drafted.

“As I say, we think there is a sensible landing spot within the protocol, and that’s what we want to see.”

Asked whether he was referring to Article 16 when mentioning how the protocol was “drafted”, the No 10 official replied: “No. I understand there is a lot of focus on that but it was Article 13.8 that saw parts of the protocol being superseded by future agreements between the UK and EU and allowing.

“The protocol at the time recognised that there would be further discussions to take place.”

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald condemned Boris Johnson over threats of unilateral action on the protocol and warned of a “full on collision” with the EU.

“It is very, very foolish of him, and reckless of him to pursue again the threat of unilateral action, to break international law and create a full on collision with the European institutions, with the government in Dublin and with the US administration,” she told the BBC.

The Sinn Fein leader also accused the UK government of choreography with the DUP over the latest crisis at Stormont.

“We believe strongly that the prime minister has given cover to Jeffrey Donaldson and his party and their antics of holding everything back, and we’ll be saying to him very clearly that that needs to stop,” she said.

The government's plans to send migrants to Rwanda will deter Channel crossings when the policy is "fully established", Downing Street has claimed.

"Short-term, we will continue to see these crossings take place until this policy is fully established," the prime minister's official spokesman said.

The spokesman's comments came after figures showed more than 8,000 asylum seekers and migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel this year.

This is more than double the number recorded for the same period in 2021 (3,112) and more than six times the amount recorded at this point in 2020 (1,340).

Asked if it was hoped to be a deterrent, the spokesman added: "We want to establish the policy in full and we believe that once fully established it will be successful in reversing some of this growing trend we have seen."

The Liberal Democrats have accused the government of "trashing Britain's reputation as a development superpower" following the publication of the new international development strategy.

Layla Moran, the party's foreign affairs spokesperson, said: "The Conservative government is trying to run and hide from the devastating impact of their aid cuts.

"The callous decision to slash aid spending is so scarcely mentioned in the strategy it's like they're pretending it doesn't exist.

"The foreign secretary won't even appear before parliament to announce this new strategy, because she knows that she will face difficult questions on how this broken Conservative promise is harming the most vulnerable around the world."

Ms Moran added: "Development has been relegated from the cabinet table, the aid budget has been slashed, and the UK's proud reputation as a development superpower has been comprehensively trashed."

Sir Keir Starmer has been quizzed on 'Beergate' in an appearance on ITV's This Morning, repeating his pledge to resign if Durham Police find he had broken Covid laws.

"I will do the right thing and step down - I've put everything on the line because i think that's the right thing to do. That's the complete opposite of the prime minister," he said.

Pressed on his call for Boris Johnson to resign [when Metropolitan Police first launched an investigation in January], he said: "By then we already knew there was industrial scale rule-breaking in Downing Street. We'd had so many examples, including the suitcase of booze coming in on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral."

"I haven't broken the rules. My instinct as soon as I knew that Durham had decided they were going to reopen its investigation, in my heart I knew what I was going to say, which is if I'm wrong, and they find I have broken the law, then I'll do the right thing and step down.

The Labour leader added :"I hope that isn't going to happen, I don't think it's going to happen, but I'm trying to make a bigger point here... trust in politics. The number of times I hear you're all the same - you won't do the right thing. I think trust is everything in politics.

"In the event I'm wrong and the police say I have done something wrong, then I will step down and do the honourable thing. I think it's very important to me to say that and I have said that."

Conservative MP Michael Fabricant has called on chancellor Rishi Sunak to immediately raise benefits in line with inflation after he paid a visit to his local food bank.

Our politics reporter Adam Forrest has the story:

No 10 has defended Home Office minister Rachel Maclean after she suggested people struggling with the rising cost of living should consider taking on more hours at work or moving to a better-paid job

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The minister was clear in what she said, people’s individual circumstances will vary.

“That’s why we have a range of measures available to people, some are quite broad, changes to income tax, there’s also more tailored support like the doubling of the household support fund.

“So it will vary, the minister was clear, she said it was not going to work for people already working in three jobs, and that’s why we have the other measures we are putting in place.”

The spokesman added: “People’s individual circumstances will vary, there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

“This is a global issue caused by things like the pandemic and war in Ukraine. So individual circumstances will vary, there is a range of support for individuals depending on their circumstances.”

Priti Patel is attempting to give herself more powers to “intervene” in policing and ensure local forces are delivering the “government’s policing commitments”.

Planned changes to the Policing Protocol Order, which governs the relationship between the home secretary, chief constables, elected police commissioners and scrutiny panels, have sparked alarm.

Our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden reports:

Some protesters, including anti-Brexit activists, booed Boris Johnson as his car arrived at the gates of Hillsborough Castle just outside Belfast for talks with political leaders.

Activists held banners which read: “Back off Boris. Protect The Protocol”.

Mr Johnson is in Northern Ireland for talks aimed at solving issues around the post-Brexit trading arrangments.