British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said she intends to introduce legislation in the coming weeks to "make changes" to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Bill will propose separate "green" and "red" lanes for goods travelling between Britain and Northern Ireland, with those destined to stay within the UK excluded from EU-level checks.

There will be no crossover between the channels, it is understood, with goods filtering through one or the other, depending on their intended destination.

The legislation is due in the "coming weeks", before the summer recess.

It had been heavily tipped to have been introduced to parliament today.

European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič warned that EU will respond to unilateral action by the UK over the protocol with "all measures at its disposal".

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said: "I deeply regret the decision of the British government to introduce legislation in the coming weeks that will unilaterally dis-apply elements of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

"Such unilateral action in respect of an internationally binding agreement is damaging to trust and will serve only to make it more challenging to find solutions to the genuine concerns that people in Northern Ireland have about how the protocol is being implemented."

His statement came after Ms Truss told the Commons the Bill will put in place the necessary measures to "lessen the burden on east-west trade and to ensure the people of Northern Ireland are able to access the same benefits as the people of Great Britain".

"The Bill will ensure that goods moving and staying within the UK are freed of unnecessary bureaucracy through our new green channel," she said.

"This respects Northern Ireland's place in the UK, in its customs territory, and protects the UK internal market.

"At the same time, it ensures that goods destined for the EU undergo the full checks and controls applied under EU law."

This will be underpinned by "data-sharing arrangements", she said.

"It will allow both east-west trade and the EU single market to be protected whilst removing customs paperwork for goods remaining in the United Kingdom," she added.

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Ms Truss went on to say the Bill will remove regulatory barriers to goods made to UK standards being sold in Northern Ireland, with businesses able to choose between meeting UK or EU standards in a new "dual regulatory regime".

The legislation will also provide the British government with the ability to decide on tax and spend policies across the whole of the UK, she said.

She added: "It will address issues related to governance, bringing the protocol in line with international norms.

"At the same time, it will take new measures to protect the EU single market by implementing robust penalties for those who seek to abuse the new system."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to the protocol in 2019 to allow Britain to leave the EU's single market and customs union without controls being re-imposed on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, vital to the Good Friday Agreement.

Speaking during a visit to a London station, Mr Johnson said the government needs to address "the problems" with the protocol.

"What that actually involves is getting rid of some relatively minor barriers to trade," he said.

"I think there are good, common sense, pragmatic solutions. We need to work with our EU friends to achieve that."

Asked if the country could afford a trade war with the EU, he said: "I don't think that is likely, but what we have to fix is the problems with the Northern Ireland political situation."

The option of invoking Article 16 will remain on the table.

More details are expected to be set out in the coming weeks.