Prime minister Boris Johnson and foreign secretary Liz Truss have “in principle signed off” on plans to introduce a bill within the parliamentary session beginning next month, according to the Financial Times.

A spokesperson for the UK government told the newspaper: “No decisions have yet been taken and our overriding priority continues to be the protection of peace and stability in Northern Ireland.”

An EU official said: “Unilateral decisions will never work. The EU has pulled out all the stops over the past months, and is ready to work further with the UK over the coming weeks.”