Chris Heaton-Harris and Simon Coveney to meet at British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference

The rebuilding of relationships to try to fix problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol will continue on Friday.

Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris will meet Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney in London for the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. 

Mr Coveney also had dinner with the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Thursday evening.

The meetings display the renewed efforts to rebuild relationships damaged between the UK and Ireland over the Protocol.

It comes after Mr Coveney told the Dáil that he didn't think a deal on the Protocol could be reached by 28 October, the date currently set when the secretary of state would need to call a Stormont election if there is no Executive.

The DUP have blocked it being reformed in protest against the Protocol which they say creates an Irish Sea border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Meanwhile "technical talks" on resolving problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol have resumed between UK and EU officials.