The international trade secretary, Liz Truss, has admitted Brexit led to food shortages in Northern Ireland after weeks of disruption. Her cabinet colleague Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, had argued that the coronavirus crisis was solely to blame for the shortages, but Ms Truss contradicted him, blaming both issues. Meanwhile, a row broke out between the UK and EU after the Foreign Office refused to grant the bloc’s ambassador in London the same diplomatic status afforded to representatives of individual nation states. Also, anger is building among manufacturers as EU customers cancel orders due to Brexit red tape.