Jim Nicholson: I worked alongside Chris Heaton-Harris when we were MEPs and he has the ability to fix the Irish Sea border

I congratulate Chris Heaton-Harris on his appointment as secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

I worked alongside Chris as Members of the European Parliament for close to a decade.

He has a deep understanding of how European Union politics operates and I hope that knowledge and experience can be used to find solutions to the problems which the Northern Ireland Protocol is causing.

He has the ability to do so. Chris is a likeable character and is a straight-talker as well as being a hard worker.

Northern Ireland needs solutions to the protocol and we need negotiations to be reopened as soon as possible.

Failing that the United Kingdom government must act in the best interests of Northern Ireland and the Union as a whole.

There is no time to waste.

Jim Nicholson, Former Ulster Unionist MEP