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Conservative MP Steve Baker: "We have to bring some humility to this situation"

Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker said the UK needed to "show humility" with the EU if a deal on the protocol is to be reached.

He also defended making an apology at the Conservative conference on Sunday for some of his behaviour towards Ireland and the EU during the Brexit process.

He said he and others did not "always behave in a way which encouraged Ireland and the European Union to trust us to accept that they have legitimate interests".

On Monday, he defended those remarks in an interview with Irish national broadcaster RTÉ.

"Unionists and loyalists have not reacted well to my apology but I would just say to them, you know, if we're going to be constructive here and get a deal that works for everyone, we've got to de-escalate these tensions," he said.

"If I have to eat a bit of humble pie to get that done, then I'm happy to eat it."

"I'm sorry that relations between the United Kingdom and Ireland has been soured by the Brexit process," he said, adding that as a former chair of a hardline Eurosceptic group of Conservative MPs, his behaviour had at times "caused anxiety".