Brexit talks 'null and void' if divorce deal not implemented - Irish PM

Britain's trade talks with the European Union would be rendered "null and void" if the Brexit withdrawal agreement it signed up to is not implemented in full, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin was quoted as saying on Tuesday. The EU warned Britain on Monday that there would be no trade deal if a Financial Times report that London might simply undercut the divorce treaty signed in January was accurate.

Britain's trade talks with the European Union would be rendered "null and void" if the Brexit withdrawal agreement it signed up to is not implemented in full, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

The EU warned Britain on Monday that there would be no trade deal if a Financial Times report that London might simply undercut the divorce treaty signed in January was accurate. The deal included special arrangements to avoid a hard border between Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland.

"The withdrawal agreement is an international treaty and we expect the UK government to implement and to adhere to what was agreed. We trust them to do so or they would render the talks process null and void," Martin told the Irish Examiner in an interview.