By Harry Holmes2021-03-03T16:44:00+00:00 NI Secretary Brandon Lewis made the announcement on Wednesday Northern Ireland border checks will be phased in from October under new government plans that have inflamed mounting tensions with the EU. The UK and the EU agreed last year to a series of grace periods for agri-foods entering Northern Ireland, an agreement the UK has now opted unilaterally to adjust. In a written statement on Wednesday, NI Secretary Brandon Lewis said the government was taking several “temporary” steps to avoid “disruptive cliff edges” by extending the current grace periods until “at least 1 October 2021”. The move has stoked tensions with Brussels. EU Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic called it “a clear departure from the constructive approach,” and the “second time that the UK government is set to breach international law.” Irish Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said it was “not the way a respectable, honourable country should behave”.