Liz Truss and Joe Biden have ‘very short discussion’ on NI Protocol

Liz Truss and Joe Biden both agreed that peace in Northern Ireland must be protected and preserved when the pair met at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said: “On the Northern Ireland Protocol, the prime minister and President Biden both agreed that the priority must be protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and preserving the gains of peace in Northern Ireland.”

According to Downing Street, Mr Biden and Ms Truss only had a “very short discussion” about the Northern Ireland Protocol during a 75-minute meeting.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said Ukraine “dominated” the wide-ranging conversation, with the meeting having “run over” the scheduled hour.

He said the pair spoke about the protocol at the end of the meeting after one of the president’s team brought it up and said Mr Biden did not seek reassurances.

The spokesman characterised the tone of the meeting as “warm” and that they did not discuss a UK-US trade deal.

On the meeting between the US and UK leaders, the White House said: “They affirmed their shared commitment to protecting the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.”

Ahead of the meeting Mr Biden had told Ms Truss that he was “looking forward to hearing what’s on your mind” about the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol, as he said the UK remains “our closest ally in the world”.

The prime minister sought to reassure the president by telling him how she would be explaining how the Belfast Agreement would be upheld.

Earlier in the day, Ms Truss also discussed the post-Brexit agreement to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

It was also revealed that British diplomats are eyeing a first state visit to the UK for Mr Biden linked to the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement next year.

The King would host Mr Biden around the time of a possible European trip for celebrations of the 1998 peace deal.

Mr Biden, vocally proud of his roots in Ireland and the US’s role in brokering the agreement, would likely be keen to visit the island of Ireland to mark the anniversary.

Diplomatic sources said it would be an ideal moment to invite Mr Biden for a state visit.

But there were concerns raised over the level of the celebrations, with the NI Executive established by the agreement currently collapsed.

The UK government was remaining optimistic that power-sharing could get back up and running by the anniversary.