British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has called for “a bit of respect” from the European Union (EU) leaders as he claimed the bloc’s senior figures “serially” talk about Northern Ireland “as if it were somehow a different country from the UK”.

His remarks in June come amid escalating tension between both sides on post-Brexit trade and a “grace period” for some border checks that ends by the end of the month, reports Xinhua news agency. “We have serially seen senior EU figures talk about Northern Ireland as if it were somehow a different country from the UK,” MrRaab told Sky News.

He claimed the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol had been “very lopsided” and had had “real life effects” on people in Northern Ireland. “What we cannot have is the continuing disruption of trade and effectively trying to change the status of Northern Ireland, contrary to the consent and wishes of the people, which is not just contrary to the Northern Ireland Protocol but also to the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement,” the Foreign Secretary added.