UK PM Johnson: need to ditch "crazy" checks on GB-NI trade

Johnson said that "practical common sense is what's needed" to resolve issues with the European Union over the Northern Ireland protocol. "What we've got to do is get to a sensible solution that recognises that it's crazy to have checks on goods that are basically circulating within the single market of the United Kingdom," Johnson told broadcasters.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday it was "crazy" to have checks on goods coming from Britain heading only to Northern Ireland, after Belfast ordered an immediate halt on checks on agri-foods, earning a rebuke from Brussels. Johnson said that "practical common sense is what's needed" to resolve issues with the European Union over the Northern Ireland protocol.

"What we've got to do is get to a sensible solution that recognises that it's crazy to have checks on goods that are basically circulating within the single market of the United Kingdom," Johnson told broadcasters. "What you could have, of course, is commonsensical, practical steps to weed out (and) check on things that might be at risk of circulation... in Ireland, as well as Northern Ireland. And we can do that but without having a full panoply of checks on the GB-NI coast and at the airport."