N Ireland party leader pans Pelosi’s warning on Brexit terms

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing criticism from the leader of Northern Ireland’s biggest unionist party after saying Congress won’t approve a trade deal with the U.K. if Britain scraps the agreement governing post-Brexit trade on the Irish island. The trans-Atlantic sparring comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government announced its intention to introduce legislation to unilaterally suspend the Northern Ireland Protocol that governs trade with the European Union. The protocol is designed to preserve the Northern Ireland peace process, but unionists complain it’s created a trade barrier between the province and the rest of the U.K. Disputes over the protocol are blocking Northern Ireland from creating a new government after this month’s election.