i think we would all want to see. borisjohnson. the government has said it needs "significant" changes to the agreement covering trade in northern ireland. the so—called northern ireland protocol helps prevent the need for checks on the border on the island of ireland. ministers are particularly concerned that chilled meats will not be able to move from great britain to northern ireland when a grace period expires at the end of september. during prime minister's questions, borisjohnson said he wanted to sort out issues with the protocol through practical steps. immediately afterwards, the northern ireland secretary was at the despatch box to outline those very steps. the difficulties we have in operating the northern ireland protocol are now the main obstacle to building a relationship with the eu that reflects our strong common interests and values.