The Northern Ireland Protocol has been lambasted as a “stick for the EU to beat the UK with” after Brexit. It was negotiated at the 11th hour as a solution to one of the biggest sticking points in talks – the Irish border. Under previous proposals there were rows over the functioning of the sole land border between the EU and UK, which is on the island of Ireland. There was fierce opposition to a return to a militarised border in Ireland, and instead it was agreed that Northern Ireland would effectively remain in the single market for goods. This means EU customs rules are applied at Northern Ireland’s ports and airports, even though the region is still part of the UK customs territory.