EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan to resign

EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan is to resign.

A spokesperson for the senior Irish politician told broadcaster RTE he was stepping aside.

He has been under intense pressure after attending an Irish parliamentary golf society dinner in the west of Ireland last week with 80 other people in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Hogan had been expected to play a key role in establishing the EU’s relationship with Britain following Brexit.

He travelled around Ireland during his summer break from Brussels despite official rules stating he should have self-isolated for 14 days because of the rate of infection abroad.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had sought an explanation from her commissioner amid disquiet from the highest levels of the Irish Government.

• Dossier reveals worst-case scenario if no-deal Brexit and second Covid wave coincide

• Why the UK's fishing industry could be the issue that scuppers a Brexit deal with the EU