UK’s Johnson urges end to N Ireland deadlock, spars with EU

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is heading to Northern Ireland to try to end a political deadlock that is preventing the formation of a regional administration. The trip on Monday comes as Britain threatens to break the Brexit agreement with the European Union that it blames for the crisis. Voters in Northern Ireland elected a new Assembly this month, but the Democratic Unionist Party says it will boycott proceedings until Johnson’s government scraps post-Brexit checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. Johnson’s office says he will urge political leaders in Belfast to get back to work, but will also accuse the EU of refusing to give ground over the border checks.