The EU’s ambassador to the UK has accused new DUP leader Edwin Poots of making comments about the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol that lack “adherence to reality”. Joao Vale de Almeida was asked about Mr Poots saying that the agreement was “demonstrable harm to every individual in Northern Ireland” and is having a “devastating impact”. The ambassador told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “First of all I don’t think those statements have adherence to reality. The EU is politically, financially and emotionally, I would say, committed to peace and prosperity for everybody in Northern Ireland. “The protocol is not the problem, Brexit created the problem in Northern Ireland.