Boris Johnson broke Brexit deal to distract from coronavirus response - Business Insider

The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator has reportedly claimed that Boris Johnson took the contentious decision to renege on his Brexit deal with the EU in order to distract from the UK government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Politico reported that Michel Barnier on Monday told senior diplomats from eight eastern EU member states that criticism of how the UK government was handling a potential second wave of the virus may have led Johnson to take the decision to rewrite parts of the protocol for Northern Ireland, citing three people sources familiar with the briefing.Johnson's UK government last week caused consternation in London and Brussels when it admitted that its plan to disapply parts of the Northern Ireland protocol agreed with the EU last year would break international law.Brussels reacted furiously to the move, warning Prime Minister Johnson that it would consider legal action if he did not scrap the plan by the end of the month.