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Lord Trimble, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, says if media reports are true and the UK has conceded on the Irish border issue during Brexit talks, "it's a thoroughly bad idea".

It is reported the government has offered to maintain "regulatory alignment" between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, in order to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland.

Lord Trimble, who is now a Conservative peer, told Radio 4's World at One that if such a deal were to go ahead "it's going to put Northern Ireland businesses at a very significant disadvantage... because they would be locked into European regulatory provisions whereas the rest of the United Kingdom ...is free from those".

(Photo: Lord Trimble, former First Minister of Northern Ireland Credit: Getty Images)