UK and Irish PMs hold talks amid Northern Ireland tensions

Tensions in Northern Ireland are set to dominate talks between Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Micheal Martin later.

Concerns about the ramifications of Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol are likely to be raised.

But the talks also come days after the conclusion of the Ballymurphy inquest.

The coroner said the 10 people killed in west Belfast almost 50 years ago in the wake of an Army operation were "entirely innocent" - leading to calls for a public apology from Mr Johnson.

The PM wrote to the families of the victims - who received the letter minutes before Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis apologised in Parliament for "the events at Ballymurphy" in 1971 - on Thursday.

But the families were angered by the tone and timing of the correspondence.

It also comes during rows in Westminster over the protection of veterans from unfounded prosecutions.

Soldiers who served in Northern Ireland are excluded from the government's Overseas Operations Bill - a decision which led to the resignation of defence minister Jonny Mercer.

Mr Johnson has said the government was "committed to doing more over the coming months, including for those who have served in Northern Ireland".

But last week, Mr Martin warned that introducing a form of amnesty on Troubles prosecutions would represent a "breach of trust" - appearing to scrap a key mechanism agreed by the UK and Irish governments and main Northern Ireland parties in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement.

Tensions have been rising in Northern Ireland over recent weeks, with violence on the streets.

Protest in several towns and cities last month were thought to have been prompted by a decision not to prosecute senior members of Sinn Fein for alleged Covid-19 breaches at the funeral of a senior republican.

But the fallout of Brexit was also thought to have played its part, with the deal between the UK and EU seeing new border restrictions placed in the Irish Sea, leading to anger from unionists and loyalists.

DUP leader and First Minister Arlene Foster was forced to resign after party members revolted against her, and UUP leader Steve Aiken also tendered his resignation.

The DUP's leadership contenders, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Edwin Poots, have both pledged to increase opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol - even if it risks collapsing Stormont - and the winner will be announced later on Friday.

Meanwhile, unionist political leaders are also bringing a challenge to protocol - which sees Northern Ireland remain a part of the EU's single market for goods and enforces EU customs rules at its ports - to Belfast's High Court.

They say the protocol breaches the Act of Union and the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement.

Earlier this week, Brexit Minister Lord Frost said it was hard to see that the way the protocol is currently operating "can be sustainable for long".

The meeting between Mr Johnson and Mr Martin was arranged "some time ago", according to an Irish government spokesman.

They said discussions between the two leaders would cover "the response to Covid-19, a range of issues relevant to peace and stability in Northern Ireland and the broader British-Irish relationship".